A Will and A Way
by Anomilee1
Summary: Where there is a will they will find a way. There is also an inevitable way when you technically don't have an existing choice that's good enough. But that's life. Still they could have done without the extra but in the end they may be glad they didn't have to. Just read it people. Ichabbie is end game. Rated T for now.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey guys, so I just wanted to do this story, since I originally started off IN LOVE with sleepy hollow. Fell off due to some inconvenient circumstances at the end of season 1, but have since had the chance to catch back up again. And I just want to say that I didn't start out Ichabbie, because I didn't start out anything. I just liked the dynamics and was just really interested in the back story. After catching up I gotta say that I am more Ichabbie now which is mostly the writers and Katrina's fault, who is also the writers' fault. Which is a shame because when I first started watching this show, I was pro Abbie, Ichabod, and Katrina and felt bad that Ichabod and Katrina had been torn away from each other like they had although I still wasn't really interested in them getting back together, but I also wasn't against it, it just wasn't one of the main plot lines of the story for me. Anyways, I was excited about Katrina joining the team because I was like well she's a witch and she knows some things about all of this that they don't know so she can't help but to help and make the team more badass, right? Wrong! (And this is on the writing). Clearly Katrina didn't attend Hogwartz or any of the Magical Schools of Witchcraft and Wizardry because she sucks as a witch. But still I could have let that slide. Added on top of the fact that she's really not contributing as I wish she would have her decision making skills and process is atrocious. Now don't get me wrong, as a mother, I understand that you want your child to be redeemed and to save him but she knew from jump that that was not even a small part of the purpose of all of this happening but yet and still she wants everyone to jump on board with her reasoning when her reasoning only applies to her and Ichabod with the "He's my son." And everyone else there is like "Yes, YOUR son. Who is trying to kill me and everyone else on the planet in a horrible fashion. So forgive me if I chose me and my loved ones over this evil random that I never met until he started killing people I care about." Sigh, but I digress. Anyways, my OTP will always be Ichabod and the 21st century, lol. But I think I'm officially now Ichabbie and I'm not sure they can redeem Katrina in my eyes. We'll see...

Now about the story. So basically this is a little AU in that, Morales is alive, Cynthia Irving is dead, Frank Irving will start off dead not sure if he will stay that way, Macey is only like four, and I think that's all the AUish we have for now. Any Questions?

* * *

"I'm sorry. What?" Abbie asked, turning her head so her right ear was slightly closer to the lawyer in an attempt to hear him a better. She clearly had misheard him before. No big deal. He could just restate his previous statement and clear up the entire misunderstanding.

The lawyer gave her a look, wondering if she had just misheard him, had not heard him, or if the people who drafted and signed these papers, the parents of this sweet little girl had made a huge mistake.

"Uh…," he started as he took the papers from his brief case and handed them to her, "he drew up the papers and signed them a few weeks ago. Which is," the man paused as if trying to find the right words, "odd. It's almost like they knew something was going to happen to them."

The lawyer continued but Abbie could only half hear him. Well, a third hear him. The other two thirds of her attention were divided between reading the papers and an internal emotional and mental freak out. "He and Mrs. Irving started the process of changing the papers about eight months ago. It wasn't until recently that they finalized the names on the documents. I don't know if they intended to change it again," the lawyer gave them an eye because from the looks of the man dressed as if he was in the middle of reenacting the revolutionary war and the lady trying to calm down the other lady, who was clearly the Grace Abigail Mills stated on the papers, who was obviously confused and possibly horrified by what she was reading, this could have very well been a joke or a mistake that ended badly, for the child, "but this was the way the papers were when they passed," he started to add an "unfortunately" but decided against it . "They are legally binding from our side of things."

"Abbie," she vaguely heard Jenny's voice somewhere outside of her head, "you okay?"

She didn't answer as the lawyer continued talking. She no longer heard him as she was too engrossed by the words she was reading on the paper.

"In the event that Mr. Franklin Irving and Mrs. Cynthia Irving the dual guardians of one minor Mackenzie Lauryn Irving is unable to care for the aforementioned minor, then the guardianship of said minor shall be transferred to one Ms. Grace Abigail Mills and/or Mr. Ichabod Bennet Crane."

What the hell had Irving been thinking when he signed those papers? Why out of all of the people in the entire world, did he have to pick her? He had to have been delusional or under some kind of spell when this happened, right. If choosing her didn't solidify his insanity, than surely choosing Crane as co-guardian should have been enough to earn him a trip to the Tarrytown, although he ended up there anyway. Which meant that he must have signed these papers before then, since his signature was on the papers also. She could hear him behind her giving his usual 'hmms' and 'ahs' as he read the papers over her shoulders.

This wasn't good. It wasn't good at all. How could Captain Irving have thought this a good a deal to leave a small child in the care of him and Lieutenant Mills? They clearly had a lot more to deal with and he knew this. The very last thing that they need was having to care for a child added on to their plates.

"Well, this is most untimely," he said in his usual almost awkward way as he tried to choose his words carefully as not to offend anyone.

"Tell me about it," Jenny mumbled.

He wanted to just flat out say that it was one of the worst ideas that he had ever heard of but he did not want to offend Abbie's nurturing skills nor Captain's Irving last wishes for his most prized possession. Nor did he want to let on to the fact that even though he had been making so much noise about finding out about his son he never got to father, that being responsible for a small innocent life scared the hell out of him. His eyes turned to Abbie as the papers in her hand dropped from his view. Her hands now lay at her sides, barely gripping the papers, and her head had turned towards the hospital room where the child in question lay resting.

"Leftenant?" He questioned as she quietly and methodically walked over to the door. It was almost as if she was floating, as if she was no longer in control of or inside her body as she had not responded to him or Jenny's soft questioning call of "Abbie?"

They watched as she walked over to the door with the plastic laminated giraffe stuck on it and peered inside the half window at the top.

"Is she okay?" the lawyer asked.

"She's fine," Jenny said. "Was there anyone else listed on the guardianship form?" She asked him, wanting to draw attention away from her sister who was clearly not fully with it right now and being curious about Captain Irving's motives and state of mind.

"No, I'm afraid not," the lawyer said, a little bit surer of himself that he was actually reading the situation correctly and the fact that this little girl was left in the care of these people was indeed not an optimal situation to say the least.

She looked through the door at the little girl as she sat in bed, her back propped against the pillows, a sad and somewhat disenchanted look on her face. She had been in the hospital for the last three weeks but had only woken up about a week ago. They had found her when they had gone to the house to inform Cynthia of Irving's passing and had knocked and rang the doorbell multiple times. No one had answered so she had called the woman's phone, no answer. Jenny, had then taken it upon herself to just try the door knob and surprisingly it had been unlocked. Irving had said something about something tormenting his family' in the days before he began acting strange, but he had vehemently denied anything upon further questioning of what he meant. The three of them had shared a look, Abby pulling her gun before they slowly entered the house. They cleared the house room by room and the last room being the master bedroom, where they had found Cynthia's dead body. After discerning that there was no longer an active threat within the vicinity, Jen had taken it upon herself to further investigate the rest of the house while Ichabod and Abbie investigated the supernatural part of the scene surrounding Cynthia's corpse before calling in the rest of the department. Jen had only been scoping out the rest of the scene for about ten minutes before they heard an, "Oh my God! You guys get in here! Quick!"

They had both immediately got up and rushed towards where they had heard her voice coming from. Her intermittent yell of, "Abbie," every five seconds or so had allowed them to triangulate her whereabouts and ultimately find her. When they got to the bedroom that was obviously meant for a child they found Jenny on her knees, staring at the floor. It wasn't until Abby walked further into the room that she saw the small body lying in the bed of clothes and blankets, which had been covering her small body during their initial canvassing.

Abby had immediately dropped to her knees next to the child and placed two fingers on her neck. She was a little cold, but she had a good pulse. She then put her ear to the child's face and could both hear and feel her breathing. She tried waking the girl, but when she didn't respond, she hurriedly began wrapping the girl back up in the covers careful to leave her face uncovered.

"Where are you going?" Jen asked after realizing Abbie was leaving after scooping the child up into her arms.

"We have to get her to a hospital," was her reply. Sure she was breathing and her heart was beating now, but she had no idea for how long. She had let Irving down already, she could at least try to redeem herself and pay him back for his sacrifice by saving his child as it was already too late for his wife.

"Shouldn't we call for an ambulance?" Jen asked. But Abbie had already calculated it in her head. They could make it to the hospital in the time it would take the EMTs to get to them, if not less with Ichabod driving.

"We don't have time to wait," she said cradling the child against her body as she managed to retrieve her keys from her pocket with one hand. She tossed them to him and he easily caught them.

"Leftenant, I agree with Ms. Jenny," he tried to reason with her as he followed her to the front of the house. "Maybe we should wait for the mobile doctors." They had saved Abbie, well technically Hawley had saved her but he didn't want to think of that.

"Open the door and drive Crane," she ordered him.

He opened her door allowing her to climb in with Macey still in her arms before closing it. He tried to dissuade her the entire time, but she was adamant. He gave up as they pulled out of the driveway and headed down the street. Abbie reached behind her and grabbed the police light from under the back seat and stuck it on the dash, hoping the light alone would be enough to clear the way for Ichabod and his drag race driving skills.

They had delivered the child safely to the hospital and had stayed long enough to make sure that the child was okay, save for the coma, and to give their information to the doctors. The doctors had asked for the next of kin and they had reassured them that they would be back with that information. They were hesitant at first to allow them to leave but when Abbie showed them her badge, they were more easily persuaded that someone was at least partially responsible for the child.

They had looked for next of kin and the only living relatives they had been able to find was Cynthia's grandparents who were currently living in a home and in no shape to take care of themselves less known anyone else.

During the next few weeks they had stayed in touch with the hospital and visited every few days since she and Jen felt a little guilty about abandoning the child given their history and Ichabod had tagged along out of his loyalty and appreciation to the captain, and also feeling a little guilty at the thought of just abandoning the child.

They received a call on the day she had woke from the coma and had been asked to visit the hospital to get updates. When they had arrived, they had been told that that girl was awake, but she did not remember anything from before the accident. All of her personal memories had been erased. Her rote memory was still intact but she had not remembered her name or who her parents were, or what had happened to her at any point prior to waking up in the hospital.

They had then been allowed to visit with her and they had reacquainted her with her name because everyone needed an identity. That, however, was as far as they had gone, because none of them had had enough experience to pull off what they deemed an acceptable way to tell a four year old that her parents were dead, if there was such a thing. They had taken turns visiting her every day after and had been contacted by this Mr. Davis lawyer guy asking them to meet him at the hospital, and that was how she ended up spying on the child from the hallway as she worked with the physical therapist in her room to try to rebuild her strength after being bedridden for the last couple of weeks. She didn't seem like she was really into it today though.

She heard Jen ask about options as the child spotted her through the window. Her face brightened as she smiled and waved at Abbie from her spot on the bed. She then attempted to get up and abort the physical therapy session, but the therapist wouldn't allow her as she had obviously not been participating and from the looks of it she was still a little wobbly on her legs as the therapist had to grab her to keep her from falling the moment her feet hit the floor.

She gave a small wave, hoping that her face didn't show the terror she felt inside but knowing it did. But that was okay, because Macey seemed to be too caught up in her happiness from seeing her to notice. She didn't know when she tuned back in fully to the conversation being had behind her, but figured it was more due to the turn to which the discussion had taken more than anything.

"Well as of now, they are the legal guardians," the lawyer explained. "If they decided that they are unable to care for her at this time they can transfer guardianship to someone else. There's always foster care," he added.

Abbie looked at the little girl, as the therapist finished wrapping the belt around her waist, holding on to the strap to keep the child upright, she was making progress.

"Look Abbie!" she heard the girl yell from the other side of the door as she gave her a toothy grin. "Ms. Julie let me walk." Julie shot her a look that said she didn't really have a choice least she be forced to listen to whining and sad pouty faces throughout the session.

Abbie's brows furrowed as she tried to keep from crying and fought against her internal fears to try and force herself to make the decision her heart was pleading with her to make. She knew what it was like to be abandoned, left to flail in the wind at such a young age. It was hard to come back from that, unless you found someone to help you. For her, that had been Corbin. Jenny hadn't been so lucky and had to figure it out on her own. In the end they had both been lucky because she had also seen it go wrong more ways than she had seen it go right. Sure she could pass on the chance to become Macey's guardian in the hopes that someone more suitable and more willing would come along sooner rather than later, but that wasn't a risk she thought she should be taking. Not with the little girls happiness and wellbeing hinging on her decision.

"No," she heard herself saying before she even realized that she had made up her mind to do so. She didn't notice but the three people standing behind her turned to look at her. "I wanna take her."

"Abbie?" she heard Ichabod's questioning voice behind her.

"You don't have to," Abbie told him. "You don't have to do anything, but I can't just let her…," she paused and took a deep breath before turning away from the child making her way towards the door, towards her. She turned and surveyed all of their unsure and confused faces, the last being Jenny's to which she simply stated again. "I can't."

Jenny held her gaze a little while longer before giving a resolute nod. She knew Abbie's reasoning all too well, and she would not question it. In fact she had never been more proud of her big sister in her life because in some ways, this was even scarier to Abbie than Moloch, Headless, Henry, or any demon one could drag up. Hell she was even scared because she knew she would be dragged into this to some degree, so she could only imagine the fear going through Abbie the commitment-phobe.

"But Leftenant the," demons", was what he was about to say, but he stopped himself as Abbie seemed to have wanted the child and if he had learned one thing about this time was that mentioning demons or anything supernatural could call your sanity into question and get you thrown into a mental institution. "I believe there are more pressing issues to tend to, and," he was really struggling to word this correctly without causing the lawyer to decide that he should probably take this to court and have the papers declared invalid or reverse them, because it seemed that Abby actually wanted to keep the little girl. "Are you sure this is the best time to be taking on new, eh, responsibilities?"

"Like I said Crane," she stated as she walked over to the desk to sign the papers that had been laid out in front of her earlier, which she had been too confused to sign, "you don't have to do anything. I got this."

Jenny gave her a look that said "Really?" becuase she was pretty sure that they didn't have this. They would probably make it through fairly unscathed, but they definitely didn't have this.

"Macey, no wait," they heard Julie say as the door opened and the little girl got away from her.

"Abbie!," she yelled as she ran to Ichabod, flinging herself at him. During the weak, she had learned that it was more fun jump on Ichabod than Abbie or Jenny as he was taller and sturdier. This lesson had come after Abbie had left Ichabod in her hospital room one day while she had gone down to the cafeteria to get them some lunch. They had been discussing what Mastiphal, a new demon they had encountered had wanted with an artifact taken from the history section of the museum. He had been just as enthralled in the leggo blocks as Macey had been so she thought it safe to leave him for a while as he seemed entertained for the moment and was less likely to get into any trouble. She had returned to find the child climbing onto Ichabod's back before he picked her up and waved her around in the air as she held her arms out as if she was flying. Abbie had entered and asked if he had been having fun to which he had responded to her recognized presence by placing the child back on the floor and straightening his clothes before continuing to inspect the leggos, giving her a side look to see if she was still looking at him. Macey had responded by again climbing on his back and asking him to do it again.

"Hey Ms. Jenny," Macey replied from Ichabod's arms as he had reflexively caught her mid-air and scooped her up. She reached her arms out to Jenny indicating that she wanted a hug.

"Hey sweetie," Jenny replied, giving her a hug and placing a kiss on her cheek. She then poked her side causing the little girl to giggle. "And I told you, it's Jenny. You don't have to do what Icabod does."

"Okay," the girl continued laughing as she contorted herself in Ichabod's arm to try to get away from Jen's prodding finger that was currently giving her a case of the giggles.

"Sorry, she got away from me," Julie said. She then tried to take the girl from Ichabod's arms, which didn't go over well.

"No," Macey whined. She only got to see them a few hours a day, and she never got all three of them together. She hadn't been in the hospital long but she was a bright and observant child. She knew that she didn't have grown ups that stayed in the hospital with her all day and lay in bed with her at night when she was scared. She hadn't even realized that this was an option until she had been rolled by one of the rooms on her way down to the big machine that took pictures of her head and saw the little boy that was next door to her cuddled in his bed next to this lady. She had wanted one of those ladies because she got scared a lot, especially at night, but she didn't know how to go about getting one. The best she got was Amy and Callie, the nice ladies that called themselves her nurses. Julie only came to play with her during the day and only stayed for a short time. Some other people would come in the room for a few minutes at most before leaving her alone again. Besides that, all she had was Abbie, Ichabod, and Jenny. "Don't leave," she pouted turning to Ichabod, "you just got here."

His mouth opened to respond but no words came out. Truth be told they were all a little shocked by the child's outward show of emotions. She had often expressed her dislike of them deserting her at the hospital but the tears that pooled in her eyes and threatened to overflow crocodile style confirmed to them all that the child's attachment to them had grown stronger in the short time they had been visiting her.

Abbie decided to intervene after seeing that Ichabod was at a loss for words. "Hey Mace," she said walking over to Ichabod and reaching for the child who gladly came to her. "The doctors said that you can go home tomorrow if you're feeling up to it." The child looked at her confused. She didn't have a home, she lived at the hospital. "What do you say to that? You want to blow this joint and come live with me."

The girl smiled again. "Can I?" she asked enthusiastically.

"Yeah," Abbie replied with a laugh at her reaction. "But first you have to finish your exercises with Ms. Julie so you can get stronger for when you come home."

"Okay," the girl replied eagerly as she wiggled to get Abbie to place her back on the floor. "Com'on Ms. Julie, let's go!" She handed the woman the strap that was attached to the belt that was still around her waist.

"Hold on there girly," Julie said, trying to keep up with the girl who was almost running down the hall, the three adults looking after her with an unsure look of contemplation.

"Maybe someone should tell her this isn't going to go as well as it probably should," Jenny said.

"Mm, perhaps," was Ichabod's reply of agreement.

"You two aren't making this any better," Abbie stated, as her newly gained responsibility turned the corner out of view. She walked away not needing to be freaked out anymore by the two negative people standing on either side of her.

"What other paperwork do I need?" she asked the lawyer. He opened his briefcase and began going through the rest of the paperwork with her.

* * *

A/N: Hope you enjoyed, reviews are welcomed and encouraged! Let me know what you think. Should I continue?


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Sorry took so long to update. I've been really busy. Here's the next chapter.

* * *

Okay, mental note on parenting. Never let a hospitalized child know that you are going to be taking them home unless you have discharge papers in your hand and are ready to walk out of the hospital with that child. Least you find yourself spending the night in a not so comfortable hospital bed.

After they had informed Macey that she would be coming home with them the following day, the little girl had become over excited at the realization that she was going to get to spend more time with them and wanted to start immediately. Which led to the emotional break down when they had tried to leave, because that's what it was, an emotional breakdown. Not a temper tantrum, not the strategic manipulations of a small child, but an emotional break down from a four year old that managed to break everyone's heart who had witnessed it.

"But I wanna go with you," Macey had replied, refusing to let go of Jenny's hand. "You said I could go with you this time."

Abby stooped down a little so she could get face to face with the trembling lip and currently reddening chubby cheeks of the little girl perched on the hospital bed. She knew where this was going after the first tear slid down Macey's face and she spoke a trembling, "No," when they announced it was time for them to go. Jenn's head had whipped in her direction pleading with Abby to do something because she honestly didn't want to witness the little cutie being so sad. She was already pulling at her heart strings and she hadn't even turned on the water works completely.

"No Mace, not this time," Abby corrected her. "We'll be back tomorrow and we can take you home then."

"But I wanna go with you," was her reply as she tucked Jen's hand against her chest, preparing to hold on for dear life. "Don't leave me."

Abby let out a sigh, "Macey," she honestly didn't know what to say. The child wouldn't understand the doctors wanting to observe her one more night after she held been held captive there for literally as long as she could remember. She could see how the idea of getting out of there could actually be too enticing for constructive reasoning to kick in for an adult, let alone a child.

"Don't you wanna stay with me for one more night?" Callie, the blond pony tailed nurse asked the girl as she began rubbing her back.

"Uhn uh," Macey shook her head, causing Callie to smile at the child's bluntness.

"Oh, but why Macey? I thought we had fun together. You don't want to stay and color with me. We can watch Frozen again?"

Macey looked at her before turning to Abby, rubbing at her eyes with her free hand. Abby gave her a reassuring smile, hoping it would work. "I," she started but it was only followed by a slew of tears and sobbing.

The three women's face fell at the child's breakdown. "Aww Mace, don't cry sweetie," Callie said. As one of the older nurses had heard the commotion from the hallway and came in asking what was going on. Abbie pulled the child in for a hug, as Callie explained to her colleague what was going on.

Macey took the opportunity to let go of Jenn's hand and wrap both of her arms around Abbie's neck, causing Abbie to instinctively pick her up, pressing the little body against hers as she embraced the child and began stroking her back soothingly as she softly pleaded with her not to cry, which didn't help much as the girl still believed that she was going to be left alone again at the hospital when all was said and done and that made her sad.

And this was how Ichabod had found them after he had come from talking to Mr. Davis, asking him more questions about his role in the guardianship. He had been informed that he had ninety days to make a decision to which Ichabod had informed him that that was rubbish and one could not make a decision on whether or not they wanted to take on such a huge responsibility in such a short amount of time. To which the lawyer had responded that Macey was fine in Abbie's care since she had already signed the papers and that he would work on getting everything finalized by then. If Ichabod had not made up his mind at the end of the ninety days he could always ask Abbie to be added back on as co-guardian later, although it would be entirely up to her if she allowed him to do so or not.

He had asked what had happened to cause the once elated child to change her demeanor so drastically so quickly. Jenny had told him what had happened.

"I'm going to spend the night here, Crane," Abby informed him. "She doesn't want to be left alone again, and I can't blame her."

"She's not alone," he informed Abbie as she sat on Macey's bed still stroking the child's back as the tears still came sporadically even though she had informed her that she would stay with her throughout the night and take her home the next day.

"I'm staying," Abbie told him, effectively ending the discussion. He had a way of being literal sometimes and didn't really know how to pull his punches when it came to some subjects in order to save someone's feelings. Like the way he talked about Hawley when Jenn was around. Though she had noticed that he had been getting better about catching himself, though that was usually due to the look she would give him as he opened his mouth to speak.

He gave her a curt nod before exiting.

* * *

He couldn't help but to eye the little girl as she slept. Her head resting next to Abbie's knee as she sat with her legs crossed in front of her. She was looking over some papers that had been given to her by the lawyer upon signing the papers to become Macey's legal guardian. He was trying to translate some papers he had brought with him to the hospital. After realizing that Abbie was not leaving the hospital without Macey and that they still had a lot of their Witnessing work to do, he decided to drop Jenny off at Hawley's and head back to the hospital to continue to work. Abbie was supposed to be helping him, but she wasn't. It didn't seem to be going to well for him either as he couldn't effectively take his attention away from the little girl. His eyes kept drifting back to her as he tried to gauge his future role in her life. He could play a supporting male roll or THE supporting male role. A role he had missed out on before with Jeremy. A roll that Captain Irving was supposed to fill but had passed on to him after his sacrifice for their cause. He was honored, but confused. He neither Abbie had ever raised a child before, so he did not understand why they were chosen.

"You know she's not going to grow a second head and eat you alive," Abbie said making his eyes snap from the sleeping child up to her face.

He just looked at her before glancing back at Macey, then turning back to the papers in front of him.

Abbie, was unable to work. She was too enthralled in the papers that had been left to her. Before Mr. Davis had left, he had given her a box with every legal document and other things she had needed for the girl. There had been a birth certificate, social security card, which honestly made her feel like she had just purchased a new car. She had also had some other papers which she would add to her 'grab in case of an emergency' box in the top of her closet at home. She had also received some other papers including a letter from Irving and Cynthia which she had just finished reading.

She needed to debrief after all the information she had taken in, so she interrupted him again.

"What are you thinking?" She knew he hadn't signed the papers, and knowing Ichabod, she knew that the decision was gnawing at him.

He huffed and looked at the papers before replying, "I'm thinking whoever wrote this was more twisted than I first imagined when I started reading."

"Nooo," Abbie corrected him, knowing he was deflecting. "What do you think about Macey?"

He looked up at Abbie before his eyes once again diverted to the sleeping child. "Well, I think she is very bright for her age," he started hesitantly, "Perceptive. Seems to be very fond of Ms. Jenny and you."

"And you," Abbie added. He continued.

"The slightest things seem to ruffle her emotions into disarray."

"She's four," Abbie reminded him.

"But she's a very a sweet child. Adorable, even," he paused before finishing. "I just don't know why Captain Irving and Mrs. Irving would trust us of all people with her."

Abbie gave him a look that said speak for yourself, though she was still a little hesitant, she just refused to give up now that she had committed.

"Well maybe this letter that they left us will help you to better understand," she told him as she handed the letter to him.

He took the letter from her hand and began reading it as she began clearing the bed of all the documents in preparation for going to sleep in the now cluttered bed.

He began reading

_Dear Abbie and Ichabod,_

_ If you are reading this letter than whatever this thing is that has been tormenting us has finally gotten the best of us. However one good thing that would come from this letter being in your hands would mean that our sweet little Macey has actually survived whatever this is that is happening. We were going to write this letter as an explanation but we think that we should first apologize. We know that you are in the beginning, or depending on when this letter reaches you the middle or hopefully the end of a long battle and that asking this of you is only adding to your burden. It's just that the only living relatives that we have that we would trust Macey to are Cynthia's grandparents and they are in no condition to care for her and provide her the life that she deserves. There are other people that we would trust with raising our little girl, you two included, but we felt that you would do the best job of protecting her since you are two of only a few people that know and understand that the world is in the midst of a battle to continue to exist. We feel that we are being selfish in more ways than one by asking you to do this and we would completely understand if you decline, though we hope that you would give it some thought before doing so. We have not listed them on the guardianship forms but if you do decide that caring for Macey would hinder your fight against the evil that plagues this world, then we ask that you deliver her and turn over guardianship rights to her godparents, Joseph and Sandra Langerhan in New York City. We have provided more of their information at the end of this letter. Again, we know this is selfish of us but we plead with you to accept guardianship of Macey as we know that she will be loved, cared for, and protected best with the two of you. She is the most treasured asset that we have and we hope that she can bring the love and happiness into your lives that she brought into ours._

_With love,_

_Frank and Cynthia Irving_

Ichabod let out a sigh of almost defeat. If he had had the heart to reject guardianship of the little girl, which he was beginning to think that he didn't, this letter sure would have made him give it a second thought. He did not feel the Irvings were being selfish, after all, they had both paid the ultimate sacrifice. Frank had given his life for their cause, and although he still wasn't sure of the specifics he was sure Cynthia had too. They had every right to request this of him and Abbie.

He let out another sigh before his eyes flickered back towards the bed where Abbie had settled Macey and herself under the covers. He watched as the little girl snuggled herself against Abbie. He watched still as Abbie responded by wrapping her arm around the child and rested her chin on top of her head, never opening her eyes and seeming to be dozing off.

He could do this. If Abbie could why couldn't he? If anything, both of them doing it together would probably prove to make it easier to navigate for the both of them. That was just the way things worked with them, most of the time. They fought sometimes and they got on each other's nerves a lot, but they never seemed to let it pull them far enough away from each other to allow it to permanently effect their friendship. If anything, it seemed to make their bond stronger. He wondered if this was a part of their faith, the reason why they were the two that were chosen to be witnesses. He would still never understand why they had to be born centuries apart but he had accepted that anyway. Plus, it would be nice to finally get the chance to be a father figure. Yes, it scared the hell out of him, but he had been mourning his chance with Jeremey so hard that he didn't think that he could willingly pass up on another opportunity, especially if that opportunity was with two people he had grown to care about deeply.

* * *

"No it's fine. I'll just crash at Hawley's."

Abbie couldn't help but to smile at Ichabod's reaction to her sister's comment. It was no secret that Ichabod thought Hawley, the typical modern day male, was lacking on integrity and moral conviction. And though she had seen him give Luke, Hawley, and any other guy that had approached her with anything less than 18th century etiquette a death glare, she also knew that he had grown fond of Jenny and was less than happy about her dealings with Hawley.

"Ms. Jenny," he tried, but Abbie interrupted him.

"Crane," she gave him a look that told him to say something nice or shut it.

He only nodded and decided to shut it.

"Oh, can we go to the park?" Macey asked from the back seat booster seat that allowed her to see out of the window.

They had just left the hospital and were on their way to Abbie's. Jenn and Hawley had gone by the Irvings's earlier to pick up some things for her, though most of her things had been destroyed or were covered in some type of ectoplasm. They had gone to the store to pick up a few more things for her, including the booster seat she was sitting in. Hawley had then dropped Jenn off at the hospital before heading off on another one of his adventures.

"Maybe another day Mace," Abbie told her, "We have to get home and get you settled."

"Okay," Macey said sounding a little dejected.

"Don't worry," Jenn said leaning over to her, "we'll go before the days over." The child only laughed as Jenny poked her softly in her tickle spot.

It wasn't long before they pulled up into Abbie's driveway. They all got out, Macey jumping from the backseat into Ichabod's arms as he opened the back door for her. He had initially been afraid that he would drop the girl when she first began launching herself at him without warning, but it now seemed to be developing into a reflex for him.

"What toys did you buy me?" Macey asked looking back at Jenny over Ichabod's shoulder as he carried her. All the toys at the hospital were partially broken or had been chewed on so she was happy to finally have some toys of her own that were fully functional, but not as happy as she was to finally get to go home with them.

"You'll just have to wait and see," Jenny teased her.

"Did you get me a doll?" Macey asked again.

Abbie smiled at the girl's enthusiasm. She just hoped that Jenny and Hawley hadn't gone overboard. They happened to do that every now and then, especially when they were together. She pulled out the key and unlocked the door, when she saw the clutter of her living room she stopped dead in her tracks and her mouth fell open.

"Oh," was Ichabod's response as he stepped inside of the house behind.

"Jenny!" Abbie said as she turned around searching for her litter sister.

"What?" Jenny asked stepping from behind Ichabod.

"What?" Abbie questioned back as it was something she didn't feel like she needed to explain. "You couldn't have put some of this stuff away. Her living room was full of toys and clothes, and what looked like fairy bed set, and other bed room decorations and necessities of every day life.

"Well, I was going to, but you called and told me that you were ready and that you needed the booster seat. I left from here and went straight to the hospital," Jenny explained to her. "Don't worry, the three of us can clear this place up in no time. Besides you expected me to do all this work by myself? That's your kid."

Abbie just looked at her. Her head snapped towards Macey as the girl gasped and started yelling for Ichabod to "Put me down! Put me down!"

He placed the girl down and as soon as her foot hit the floor she was running towards the corner on the far side of the room.

"Is this for me?" she asked grabbing a doll that seemed to have been dressed by someone with a very high sense of fashion including a pair of glasses Abbie was sure was meant for added style more than they were to indicate that the doll had a sight problem. The doll also had two very curly ponytails donned with two bows that matched the rest of her outfit perfectly.

"Yup?" Jenny smiled, happy that she had seemingly chosen the right doll.

Abbie quickly recognized the doll as a My American Girl Doll. She snapped her head back towards Jenny. "How much did that doll cost?"

Jenny furrowed her eyes at her before replying, "Relax, Hawley bought for her?" She pushed past Ichabod and Abbie as she picked up a few bags. "You better get moving if you want my help," she told them, "I have to be somewhere at seven."

"Thank you, I love it," Macey said still clutching her new doll as she skipped down the hall behind Jenny. "She's so pretty."

It was around five thirty when they finally finished clearing the living room and had somewhat put away most of the things in what was now the child's room. It was still a little messy but she could at least sleep in it.

"Abbie, Abbie," she heard the child coming down the hall before she saw her round the corner into the kitchen. "Can Jenny and I go to the park now? Pleaassee?"

Abbie smiled, knowing Jenny had put her up to the please part of it. She turned around from the counter where she was cutting up the vegetables for dinner. "Sure."

"Yaay! Thank you Abbie," the girl said running over and hugging her leg.

"Yaay! Thanks Abbs," Jenny said mimicking her actions as she too embraced Abbie.

"Let go of me," Abbie laughed, causing Jenny to laugh too. It had become clear to Abbie upon walking into her home to find that her living room had been turned into a department store stocked with everything a four year old girl would need or want, that Jenny was going to have too much fun with this. She couldn't blame her, she would have probably been the same way if she wasn't the one that was going to need to take on the actual responsibility of raising the child on top of everything else she was dealing with.

"Com'on Jenny," Macey said grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the door.

"Wait a second," Abbie said causing the girl to stop. "You need your jacket,"she grabbed the lilac jacket off of the chair and opened it up for the girl allowing the child to place her arms through the wholes. She then bent down to zip up the jacket and informed them that they had to be back before sundown, to which Jenny replied "Aw Abbie, that only gives us like thirty minutes."

"Com'on let's go," Macey said pulling Jenny's arm again after finding out they had limited time to play. "Bye Ichabod."

"Make sure she brings the doll back Jenn," Abbie called behind them as they ran out of the door. It was clear from the fact that the girl hadn't put the doll down since she picked it up that there would be tears if she were to lose it.

Abbie sighed before going back to the counter to finish preparing dinner. Something she was sure she would have to do more often now that she had Macey.

"Motherhood suits you well Leftenant," came his voice from where he sat at the table.

She turned towards him slightly, studying him. He had been quiet most of the evening, too quiet. He hadn't asked any questions about the computer he was currently doing research on even though she saw him struggling with it from time to time. He hadn't made any of his pitiful attempts at trashing talking which he randomly did while using the computer or expressed any disdain for 21st century culture and technology.

"Thanks Crane," she told him turning back to the cutting board. "But I like to think of it as guardian-hood. I don't think I've ascended to what could be called motherhood just yet."

"Well whatever it is you prefer to call it," he told her. "You are good with her."

He grew quiet again. "What's up with you?" Abbie asked breaking the silence. "You haven't been saying much all day. I'm usually begging you to shut up by now."

He smiled at the playful jab. "I have just been thinking," he told her.

"About?" she questioned, wanting him to continue.

"Ms. Macey, the letter her parents left for us," he told her. "Rather or not I should sign those papers that Mr. Davis has."

"Well what do you think you should do?" Abbie asked him.

"I don't know," he told her. "Why did you sign the papers?"

"Because," she told him. "I didn't want to see that little girl go through things that I went through. And if I can prevent that I will. Plus she's really adorable. And somewhere down the line I've become obsessed with taking on more responsibility, though I'm pretty sure Jenny would say I'm just bossy."

"I'm afraid I would have to agree with her," he replied without missing a beat. She laughed.

"Yeah, well you should be happy about that, or else your ass would be homeless and hungry right now."

"Touche." He grew quiet again. "What are you thinking?" she asked him, seeing him staring at the computer screen again.

"I'm thinking that I want to buy her a better gift than that loathsome toad Hawley," he said causing Abbie to fall into a fit of giggles. She had seen the way Ichabod had eyed the doll when Macey had run up to him holding out the doll telling him to look at the doll Hawley had bought her and that Jenny was going to let her call him to say thank you. "Is that absurd?" he asked her for validation.

"No," she told him. "It's completely normal. After all you've been the only man in her life for the past couple of weeks, or ever as far as she's concerned. She's grown very attached to you and you to her. It's only natural to not want to share her affection with another guy. It's why all fathers hate every last one of their teenage daughters' boyfriends. They haven't figured out how to share their little girl with another guy. I say that your jealousy means you're half way there. Just stop calling her Ms. Macey, it's going to make her feel weird when she realizes all the other kids aren't addressed so formally."

"I am overjoyed to hear that," he told her. "Because I called Mr. Davis earlier today. He's coming by tomorrow for me to sign the papers."

* * *

A/N: Sorry the stories moving a little slow but should pick up soon hopefully. Just trying to set some ground work. Again reviews are welcomed. Also suggestions on anything you want to see in the story.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Happy Valentine's Day! Here's the next chapter.

* * *

"I am so very sorry to hear about your friends, Ichabod," Katrina stated as she and Ichabod sat in the living room of the cabin.

It was rather late and he had not long ago arrived home, explaining his absence for the past two days.

"I am glad that the child is okay," she told him.

"Yes, though I am afraid that she would now be orphaned," he told her, trying to ease himself into the actual conversation that he was trying to have with his wife. The conversation about him agreeing to raise a child with another woman. "If it were not for her parents' foresight as to assign her new guardians."

"Yes, well," Katrina rose from the couch and headed towards the kitchen, preparing to make a kettle of tea, "I am sure she will be in good hands with Abigail."

"Yes," he agreed, "It seems that the Leftenant will have her hands full with taking care of Ms….while taking care of Macey, on top of the work that has been bestowed upon us."

"Abigail seems resourceful," Katrina stated as she placed the kettle on the stove. "I am sure she can manage it."

"In deed," he stated with a smile. "And she will have help of course, from Ms. Jenny, and myself of course as I will be named one of her guardians shortly."

Her head turned quickly towards him, and she looked shocked, almost angry, before a smile appeared. "I am sorry my love," she added sweetly, "I believe I've misheard you. It sounded as if you stated that you are the child's guardian."

He stared at her deciding if he should correct her or just forgo to the whole ordeal and not sign the papers. He could tell that she would be upset after he confirmed that she had not misheard him.

"Yes," he started hesitantly, his eyes never leaving hers. "The Leftenant and I both have been named guardians of the child."

She just stared at him before taking a deep breath and turning back towards the stove, she huffed and he could tell she was upset. She continued to prepare the tea, although she did so more aggressively.

"Katrina," he tried, but was cut short.

"I do not know what this is about Ichabod," she told him, still not turning to look at him, "but rather it's about Jeremey or these new people coercing you into doing this. I just want to make it clear that I do not approve of you, my husband, agreeing to care for a child with a woman who is hell bent on killing our son."

"Katrina, please," he tried again.

"No," she proclaimed as she finally turned to face him. "I do not approve of it and that is my thought on the matter. There is nothing that can be said that can change my mind." With that, she slammed the kettle down onto the counter and stormed off into the room.

He wanted to go after her. He wanted to tell her that he would not sign the papers since she didn't agree to him being Macey's guardian. He wanted to tell her that they had to accept that they had lost their son, their sweet little boy a long time ago, and that the cruel, evil being was not a part of their son that was worth saving, but he couldn't do any of that. He still wanted to sign the papers for multiple reasons. One being that he felt it was the right thing to do. He was growing to adore the child and he wanted to help his partner. He also did not think that he would like anyone else aiding her in caring for the child, the reason for that being that he would not be okay if she were to start directing any of the attention that he was currently receiving from her towards any other male figure especially if said male would ultimately be auditioning for the role of helping her care for the child, a role that he would've turned down, though he would never admit that to anyone including himself. Two being that even after all of this, after all the hurt, pain, and distress that Henry had caused them, a part of him still yearned to see a sliver of the child that he had been so cruelly torn away from before he had even had the chance to learn of his existence. This was why he could not side completely with either Katrina or Abigail on this subject, and both women had made it clear that they were not pleased with him when it came to the matter.

Because of his afflictions, he decided just to stay put and try to decipher what the passage that he had translated earlier meant for he and Abbie's mission.

* * *

She took a deep breath and blew it out. Upset with herself that she had not taken the opportunity to go to the bathroom when she had first got in bed. It was here wishful thinking that she would sleep through the night and the urges of her bladder that had kept her from getting up to go a few seconds after her head had hit the pillow and she had realized that she needed to.

She got up with a huff, knowing that she would not be able to fall asleep, and if she did she would just be up in the next hour or two with the same dilemma.

After finishing up, she walked back into her bedroom, ready to crawl back into bed. But something stopped her. She saw something sticking out on the other side of her bed but could not make out what it was as the moonlight was the only thing illuminating her bedroom. She climbed onto her bed, just in case it was some type of unwanted house guest, and peered over the other side of the bed. After realizing that what she had seen was only a part of the thing or person it was attached to, she reached over and turned on the lamp that sat on her night stand.

She let out a sigh of relief as she saw it was only Macey curled up with her pillow and the stuffed Paddington Bear Ichabod had bought her. She couldn't help the smile that graced her face, but she also felt a little sadden at seeing the girl lying on the floor. It had been a week since she had taken Macey home from the hospital. And every night she had either had to sleep in Macey's bed with her or had had to escort the girl back to her own bedroom and encourage her to be a big girl and sleep in her own bed, alone, and that she was only down the hall if she needed her, which clearly hadn't helped. She now felt bad for making her feel guilty for not being able to spend the night alone in her own bed and making her feel as if she couldn't wake her during the night if she needed her. She hadn't actually allowed Macey to spend the night in her bed with her yet, afraid that it would encourage bad habits. Now feeling guilty herself, she figured she could make an exception.

She crawled out of the bed and stood next to the child before stooping to pick her up. "Mace," she called softly as she began lifting the sleeping child. "Com'on Baby, you can't sleep on the floor."

"What happened?" Macey asked drowsily causing Abbie to laugh as she helped the girl climb onto her bed.

"You came into my room and fell asleep on the floor that's what happened," Abbie told her playfully. It seemed to wake the child up a little more as she realized she was actually being tucked into a bed other than her own. She had been caught.

"I'm sorry," she said sadly, as she looked up at Abbie. "I get scared in my room all by myself." She looked down as if she was in trouble.

"It's okay," Abbie told her. "You don't have to be sorry. It can be scary sleeping alone in a new room. But we just have to work on it, okay."

"Okay," the child stated as she scooted closer to Abbie now that she had climbed into the other side. Abbie smiled. She liked that Macey liked to cuddle next to her, she actually enjoyed cuddling the girl herself and found herself more frequently gathering the girl up in her arms just to snuggle her throughout the day, which Macey didn't mind at all.

"Oops," the child popped up out of Abbie's arms. "We forgot Paddyton," she said hopping off of the bed and grabbing the bear. "We can't let him sleep on the floor all by himself." She then crawled back into the bed depositing her and her bear under the covers and as close to Abby as physically possible.

Abbie responded by wrapping her arm around her and resigning herself to the small knees and elbows she would be receiving to various parts of her body throughout the night, because there was no way to put it kindly, Macey was a bad sleeper.

She did however make a mental note that she would have to tell Ichabod that she believed that he had actually been able to one up Hawley in the precious toy that shall never be misplaced gifting, which she had told him that she didn't think he would be able to do. But after seeing the movie and Jenny buying her the book and short video collection the girl had fallen in love with the character, even more so than she had the fashionable doll. She had also voiced her preference of sleeping with the bear to the doll as the stuffed bear was softer, which Abbie didn't mind because a plastic doll wasn't the best object to roll over onto in the middle of the night.

* * *

She leaned on the horn for the third time since she had pulled up into the driveway of the cabin.

"What's taking him so long?" Macey asked from the backseat as she continued to color in her coloring book.

"I don't know, sweetie" Abbie said scrolling through her phone. She was currently occupied with replying to emails and text messages, but she had been waiting on Ichabod for the past ten minutes. Normally she would have just gone in, but she knew that Katrina was not happy about him taking on the responsibility of becoming one of Macey's guardians so she had decided to stay clear of the witch and let her fellow Witness sort out his internal marital affairs. And though Katrina was not her best friend, now for more reasons than one, but still mainly because of the whole Henry debacle, oh and her letting headless go free after they had finally managed to capture him, she still wanted to let them have their privacy, as long as Katrina didn't try again to put the lives of her loved ones in danger.

"Here he comes," she heard Macey say excitedly from the back seat. She looked up to see Ichabod looking worse for wear.

"He looks like he needs a nap," Macey said innocently from the back seat causing Abbie to let out a giggle.

"He does," she agreed as he pulled the door open, begrudgingly before climbing in.

The smile from Macey's comment remained on her face though she was sure it was partially because she found Ichabod's state a tad bit amusing.

He didn't say a word and did a double take as he saw the smile on her face. He turned away from her, refusing to play into her hands.

"Katrina still making you sleep on the couch?" she said in a voice a little too jolly for the way he felt. That couch was not comfortable, at all.

"If you do not mind Leftenant," he started, "may we skip the part where you make fun of my sleeping arrangements and just skip to the part where we go to that Starbucks you millennials love so much?"

She crinkled her nose at him suppressing another laugh. "Sure we can," she said shifting the car into drive, "you cantankerous old man."

His head snapped back to her, but she continued to look forward a huge smile on her face.

"Hi Ichabod," Macey said sweetly from the backseat, causing Abbie not to be able to hold in her laughter any longer.

* * *

It was Luke's first day back from vacation. He had been gone over two weeks. He had built up a lot of time off and had been told that he should take it if he did not want the time to expire. So, after all the creepy stuff he had experienced around town in the last few months, he had decided it would be a good idea to get out of Sleepy Hollow for a while. He had left on unsure terms with Abbie, and he had allowed Andy to creep him out, but now he had had time to think, and he was no longer conflicted on what he should do where she was concerned. He loved her, and he wanted her back, so he was going to pursue her. He wouldn't let anything or anyone deter him.

He was sitting at his desk going through one of the files Captain Reyes had handed him, but he couldn't help peering over at Abbie's desk for the last hour or so. It was almost ten. Usually she would beat him in, so he was becoming a little concerned about her being late. He took out his phone and was about to call her, but he saw her rounding the corner.

He put the phone down and stood up immediately showing his enthusiasm to anyone that was paying attention before he could stop himself. Fortunately she hadn't seen him. Abbie had a knack for running from guys who pursued her too hard. He had learned that the hard way when he had initially tried to woo her. He smiled seeing the huge smile on her face, she looked happier than she had been when he had left her in the midst of the battle of good and evil.

The smile soon fell from his face when he saw what she was smiling at. Rounding the corner behind her was the gracefully lanky colonial carrying an adorable little girl. Abbie held a coffee in her hand, her bag hanging loosely from her right elbow and a purple backpack covered with some cartoon character he wasn't familiar with thrown over her left shoulder with a stuffed bear hanging out. Ichabod looked less amused as he two carried a coffee in the hand that wasn't occupied with the little girl. The little girl was nonchalantly eating away at the pastry in her hand.

Luke looked around the room to see if anyone was seeing what he was seeing. No one seemed to be paying them any attention. What he was unaware of was the fact that everyone else around the police station had gotten their fair share of staring in during the weeks when he was gone. He turned back to Abbie as she made her way over to her desk, still seemingly unaware of his presence or existence for that matter.

"Hey, Abbie," he said intercepting her and making her head turn towards him as she almost walked into him.

"Luke," she said surprised at his sudden appearance. "Hey, you're back. How was your vacation?" she asked side stepping him to put the bags down on her desk.

Ichabod nodded to Luke as he too narrowly made his way pass the man who would not move to allow him sufficient room to make it to his destination. When he did make it past him, he deposited Macey in Abbie's chair and began explaining to the child why it was not a good idea to scream at the top of her lungs in the middle of the store when he told her that she could not have a cake pop for breakfast, especially while Abbie had excused herself to the bathroom. Thankfully Abbie had heard the commotion and hastily made her way back to them before anyone could call the cops on him as he had heard one older woman asked another if she believed that he had kidnapped the child. To which the other woman had expressed her concerns about how oddly he was he had told Abbie this part of the story she had missed, she had only replied by laughing and telling him that's what he got for refusing to wear the clothes she had picked out for him.

"It was great," Luke said despondently before throwing a quick glare at Ichabod. "Can I speak with you for a minute," he said turning back to Abbie, before adding, "alone?"

"Uhmm," Abbie turned to Ichabod, a little confused. She knew he didn't like her new partner but he had blown her off right before he had left for vacation after begging her to have coffee with him. "Sure."

Ichabod watched as they walked out into the hallway. He continued watching as they stood in the entrance way and began talking. He didn't have anything against Luke but he didn't like the fact that the man had tried and was seemingly still trying to turn Abbie against him. Sure in the beginning he could understand somewhat, he was trying to protect her. But he had proven long ago that he bore no ill wills against her and that he was there to protect her just as much as Luke was, if not more.

"What is this?" he asked as soon as they were out of ear range of most of their coworkers.

She looked at him as if he had gone mad. "What?"

"This," he said gesturing towards her desk. She looked to her right and saw her chair spinning around in a continual circle and Ichabod leaning against her desk staring at her and Luke. She shifted uncomfortably as her eyes briefly met with the cool blue orbs of her partner.

"Who's the kid Abbie?," Luke started again drawing her attention back to him.

"Who, Macey? She'a Captain Irving's daughter," she told him a little annoyed that she was currently explaining herself to him. "We have custody of her," she stopped then restarted. "Look, a lot has happened while you were away so just calm down, I'll explain it to you later."

"No," he told her. "Explain it to me now. Why are you waltzing in her with…wait. Did you just say _we _have custody of her?"

She just looked at him, letting him freak out all on his own. She refused to play into this with him. "As in you and him are sharing joint custody of the same child?"

"Yes Luke," she huffed. She just stared at him. She didn't know why he was so concerned about what she was doing. He was the one that never seemed to be able to get his shit together. Which was one of the main reasons why she had never tried to resume a relationship with him after deciding to stay in Sleepy Hollow.

She was about to walk away from him but he grabbed her arm, causing her to turn back to him.

Ichabod stood up a little straighter, an intrigued look coming to his face as he expected her to hit the man for touching her without permission. To his disappointment, she didn't.

"Look Abbs," he started again sounding a little more remorseful, "I'm sorry about what happened before I left. There was just a lot of stuff going on. A lot of stuff. Maybe we can reschedule and catch up over some coffee?"

"Maybe," she said coldly before walking away and heading back over to her desk. She grabbed her and Macey's bags before taking the little girl's hand and helping her down from the chair. "We're working from the archives today she told Ichabod as she began walking towards the exit, not waiting for him. He grabbed his coffee and walked quickly behind her.

* * *

A/N:So, question. Is Hawley gone for good from the show? I actually liked him.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Woot! New Chapter! Hope you guys enjoy. Also, sorry but chapter length will probs continue to vary with my level of life activities, exhaustion, writer's block, my mood, etc. I'm not the most stable human being, what can I say. Still working on it, lol. I also believed I spoke about Macey's memory loss in the first chapter, she doesn't remember actually having parents in order to be upset about them being gone. And they all just decided not to broach the subject unless she brought it up. We'll touch more on that later though. Anyways, Enjoy!

* * *

"You guys I'm worried about her," Jenny told Ichabod and Hawley as they watched Abbie nod off for the fifth time that day. She knew her sister. Abbie thought she was invincible; as a matter of fact she took pride in it. It was her default mindset when she felt threatened, even though no one was threatening her. She usually went to that place when she doubted herself, or when she was tired and refused to ask anyone for help, like now. "I think all of this," she motioned around the room, "is getting to her."

It had been almost six weeks since she had taken guardianship of Macey, and a couple of weeks since the child had actually started preschool. She had been a few weeks behind but the school had allowed her admission given her medical circumstances preventing her from starting on time. Before that she had had weekly doctor's visits with the child in order to make sure that she wasn't regressing. Thankfully she wasn't. The last visit had culminated with another imaging of her head which had stressed the child out and seeing that she had had to be still for more than a few minutes, she ended up having to be sedated which had stressed Abbie out due to her concern that the child would have trouble waking up again due to her recent head injury, which in turn, had stressed everyone else out. Now that Macey was in school, Abbie's schedule had become even more hectic between parenting, keeping criminals off of the streets of Sleepy Hollow, and literally saving the world from an apocalypse. And as they could see now, it was taking a toll on her.

Ichabod looked on as her head lolled to the side, causing her to suddenly set upright and readjust the diary on her lap as she started to read through it again. He had noticed that she had not been her usually self for the past couple of days and that her energy level had fallen off noticeably. Jenny had been helping out a lot and he had been trying to help her also, but it was a little hard doing that seeing as how he was also in the middle of trying to mend his and Katrina's relationship. Now he was starting to feel a little guilty. He had taken on the responsibility of being Macey's guardian just as she had, but it was no secret that she had been doing all of the heavy lifting. Even Jenny seemed to be helping out more than he had been.

"You okay there champ?" Hawley asked teasingly as she readjusted herself in the chair.

She just glared at him before turning back to the diary. She was tired, she wouldn't deny that, she was exhausted, but she would adjust. It was a new routine for her with a lot added to her plate at one time. As soon as she found a routine that worked for her and Macey both, they'd be fine. She sighed as she saw Ichabod sauntering over to her. She could tell by the way that he was eyeing her that it was either going to be something that made her laugh at his ridiculousness or something that made her regret ever teaching him anything from the 21st century. He sat down next to her and she purposely kept her eyes on the journal. She could feel him staring at her, but it took a while before he spoke.

"Leftenant," he started finally. Thankfully, her phone ring.

" Just a sec Crane," she said as she reached for the phone in her back pocket, and hit the answer button before placing it to her ear.

"Hi Abbie," came the cheerful voice of Macey's preschool teacher from the other end. "This is Alison, Macey's teacher."

"Yes," Abbie told her letting her know she knew who she was, "is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine," the teacher replied quickly not wanting to cause a panic, "I just wanted to remind you in case you forgot that we had a short day today." Abbie's head snapped towards the clock on the wall. 'Shit,' she mentally yelled at herself.

The teacher continued, "I know you're usually here when we let out, but we let out almost an hour ago, and its getting pretty empty here…,"

"I'm so sorry. I'm on my way," Abbie cut her off as she closed the phone and grabbed her coat off of the back of the chair.

"Is everything okay?" Jenny asked somewhat concerned at her sister's slightly frantic state. All eyes in the room had been on her since she had asked the teacher if everything was okay. Ichabod was already on his feet wondering if he should follow her.

"Besides the fact that Macey's going to have a complex because I forgot to pick up the kid with severe separation anxiety?" she state sarcastically. "Nope. Everything's fine."

With that she turned and continued to walk out of the room, mentally kicking herself every step of the way. It seems that Macey's separation anxiety, which seemed like it started at the hospital, had gotten worse since she started school. The first time they had noticed a real issue with it was at Macey's first doctor's appointment after leaving the hospital.

_They had had to go back to the hospital since the clinic where the neurologist worked was actually inside of the hospital. She and Jenn had been talking about her situation with Hawley and they had both almost forgotten Macey was in the back seat as she was occupied with a few of the toys Abbie had let her bring along. Then out of the nowhere, the child had broken down into tears upon rounding the corner of the hospital._

_She and Jenny had looked into the back seat to make sure nothing had magically appeared in the back seat with the child to scare her and when finding no cause for her despair, they shared a concerned look before turning back to her._

_"Mace, what's wrong baby?" she asked as she searched for the nearest parking spot so she could tend to the child better._

_The girl continued to cry, not answering. Jenny continued to try and coax her into telling them the cause of her tears but she just cried harder as Abbie finally parked the car. She got out and opened the back door before attempting to undo the seat belt that secured the girl to the booster seat._

_"No! No!," the child screamed through her tears as she reached to pry Abbie's hands away from the belt buckle. Abbie pulled her hands away quickly out of concern that somehow her manipulation of the seat belt was actually hurting the child. Jenny watched worriedly from the front seat, unsure of how to help._

_"Okay, Macey," Abbie started before slowly beginning to reach for the buckle on the strap again, "I'm just going to undo the seat belt so I can take you out okay?"_

_"No, don't!" was the child's reply as Abbie's hands got too close to the buckle for her liking. "Please, no! No!"_

_Abbie had to take a second to compose herself. She was becoming flustered. It was clear that the child was in some type of distress, but she didn't know what and she didn't know how to help her because she didn't know what was wrong._

_"Okay, well," Abbie tried again, not knowing what to do. What she really wanted to do was take the child from the car seat and alternate between holding her too tightly and checking her over for any bodily injuries that she might currently not be seeing. "What do you want me to do?"_

_The two women starred at the child, Jenny wondering if she should run inside and grab a doctor. Macey continued to sob uncontrollably, the only intelligible thing that Abbie was marginally able to make out was "Sorry."_

_That was it. She couldn't take it anymore. She needed to know what was wrong. She needed to console the child, which she currently felt she was not doing an effective job at._

_She reached for the seat belt again and this time did not let go when the child attempted to pry her hands away._

_"No, no, no, no no!," she continued to sob. It wasn't until the child realized that Abbie had been successful in undoing the seat belt and was currently reaching to take her from the seat that they learned the reason for the child's sudden shift in demeanor._

_"No, don't take me back, please!," Macey cried, trying to get away from Abbie and crawl to the other end of the car as not to be taken out of it. "Wanna stay with you, please, no!"_

_Jenny's mouth fell open as she fought back tears, all of her emotions from her own traumatic childhood coming flooding back to the forefront of her mind. The child absolutely hated her booster seat and it often took a little bit of coaxing to get her to stay in it, but here she was clinging to it as to try to prevent being separated from them. She remembered that feeling, all too vividly._

_"Macey, listen, calm down," Abbie tried, to no use as the child continued to try to get away from her. It wasn't until she had the child securely wrapped in her arms that she was actually able to make some progress. "I'm not going to leave you, baby, I'm not. Sweetie you gotta calm down, please."_

_It wasn't until Macey realized that Abbie was not dragging her back inside of the hospital to leave her again that she began to quiet a little. "I'm not going to leave you," Abbie cooed quieter now since she didn't have to yell over the child's screaming anymore._

_Macey continued to sniff, as her tears slowly started to slow. Abbie continued stroking the child's hair. She made the mistake of looking up at Jenny who had tears threatening to spill over. She felt tears that she had been trying to hold at back quickly spring to her eyes but she refused to let them fall. She didn't want to upset the child any more than she already was. So she continued to quietly talk to the child, reassuring her that she was not going to leave her at the hospital or anywhere else for that matter and that if she did, she would always come back for her as soon as she could._

_To which Macey replied with a sniff as she pulled away to look into Abbie's eyes. "You promise?"_

_Abbie couldn't help the smile on her face as she saw the child's tears had completely stopped._

_"With all my heart."_

"Damn it," Abbie said hitting the stirring wheel. She was upset with herself. She couldn't believe that she had forgotten to pick the child up. She felt bad. Not that Macey wouldn't get over it, she just felt bad about forgetting.

Ichabod looked at her with concern. He had followed her out of the archives and climbed into the passenger seat before she had sped off down the road. She hadn't said anything to him since they left. He decided to broach the subject before they got to the school.

"Leftenant, I am afraid I owe you an apology," he started.

"For what Crane," she asked him as the stopped at a red light.

"I am afraid that I have not been as great a help to you when it comes to Macey as I originally agreed to be," he stated.

Her brows furrowed before she let out a laugh. He looked at her a little offended that he was being laughed at.

"I'm sorry," she apologized laughing harder now, more at the look on his face more than anything. The truth was, she had expected Ichabod to be nothing more than a glorified babysitter, and to of course take over care of the child if something were to happen to her. She had come to terms with the fact that she would be taking care of the child mostly on her own after he hadn't signed the papers the first night. And any hope of her receiving more help from him were slashed when she found out about Katrina's disapproval of his involvement in the entire thing. "I'm sorry," she apologized again as her laughter subsided.

"As well you should be," he responded sticking his nose in the air, getting that 'my time was a lot better and morally founded than yours' heir about him. "I do not find it the least bit amusing that I have failed to fulfill my responsibilities to you and Macey. My honor.."

"Hold on there a minute, Crane," she stopped him before he could get to into the long winded speech he was gearing up for. "You haven't failed to fulfill anything," she reassured him. "Macey and I are fine."

"I beg to differ," he told her, as he turned prepared to argue with her, his guilt fueling him. "You, Leftenant are not fine. You have been falling asleep consistently, your focus is off. You almost got your head taken off of your shoulders. And that was a battle with one of the less apt demons we've faced mind you. And by the end of the day you look as if the succubus…,"

Her head whipped towards him, daring him to finish that statement. He immediately stopped talking.

"Get to the point, Crane," she told him. "I don't think my ego can take you beating around the bush any longer."

"I am only trying to tell you that I would like to be more of a help to you when it comes to taking care of Macey," he informed her. "As Miss Jenny said, you need a break. I am also her guardian. I believe that it is only fair that she comes to spend some time at the cabin with me."

His last sentenced caused Abbie to laugh again. He again gave her a look letting her know he didn't find anything amusing.

It took her a few moments to realize he wasn't laughing with her. "You're serious?" she questioned him.

"I should think that I am," he told her.

"Crane," she started trying to find the words that would not hurt his feelings but that would also convey how much she was not about to let this happen, "I'm not going to let Macey spend the night at the cabin with you." And Katrina she was about to say as that was really the problem. She would have her reservations about him alone, but that was mostly because she still saw him as somewhat of a baby foe trying to get his bearings about him in this new time. She didn't think that leaving him alone overnight with a four year old that was more tech savvy than him was the best idea, but she was confident that she would find the both of them still intact. With Katrina there and Henry still running free, she wasn't too sure about that. And to be honest, her faith in Ichabod's judgment when it came to the two of them was still wavering.

He looked a little hurt. Maybe she hadn't chosen her words as carefully as she thought.

"And here I was thinking that we had a mutual understanding. That you trusted me as much as I trusted you."

"I do trust you," she told him. "It's Katrina that I don't trust."

"Leftenant, I know that you and my wife have not seen eye to eye recently on several matters but I assure you, she is not as bad of a person as to harm a child."

"Unless it benefited her own sixty-five year old child," she mumbled.

"Is that what this is about?" he questioned. She didn't answer. "Leftenant, although I have done so many times in the recent past, I will apologize again."

"No need to apologize Crane," she told him as she pulled up in front of their destination. "The answer's still no." She got out of the car leaving him no chance of rebuttal.

He watched as the teacher pointed out Abbie's arrival to Macey, as she had had the remaining few children outside playing various games. The girl ran to his partner with her arms outstretched and a huge smile on her face. Abbie scooped her up and planted a kiss on her cheek before taking the child's back pack from the teacher and exchanging a few words with the woman. As she turned to come back to the car, he could see that her demeanor had changed. She seemed less anxious and stressed now that she saw that the child was okay.

The truth is he was a little upset with her. He had expressed his desires to be more involved in the child's life and take some of the work load off of her in the process and she had turned him down. He didn't think that it was fair.

"Hey Ichabod," Macey said climbing half way on top of the console to give him a hug before climbing back into her seat so Abbie could strap her in.

"Did you have fun today at school?" he asked her as Abbie went around the other side to get in.

"Yeah, we drawed pictures," she told him, handing him one of the papers that she had pulled out of her back pack. "I drawed this one for you."

He smiled. Normally the butchering of the language that he was experiencing would irk him to no end, but he actually found it charming coming from the child, although he made a mental note to give her personal English lessons later. He looked at the picture that was handed to him. It was a simple picture of him and Macey, standing in a field of yellow flowers, holding hands. Her name above the shorter stick figure and his name above the taller, more oddly disproportionate one which had something hanging from its face, which he assumed was quite possibly his beard. Not to mention his name was severely misspelled.

He continued to look at the picture as Macey began singing along to the music on the radio and Abbie pulled out of the parking lot, giving a glance at the picture and grinning widely before informing him that the picture "looks just like you, Ikybad".

He gave her a look, trying to let her know that he did not find her teasing amusing, but unable to help the smirk on his face. His focus quickly went back to their previous discussion. "What if I spend the night at your house?" he asked her.

She just looked at him, her brow furrowed. She was about to tell him that he was being ridiculous about the whole thing but Macey interrupted before she could.

"Are you gonna sleep at our house tonight?" she asked energetically from the back seat. "Are we having a sleep over?"

Abbie looked at the girl in the back seat, with her hands wishfully up in the air then turned back to Ichabod who was still awaiting her answer to both his and Macey's question. She had apparently been out voted, again.

* * *

The first thing he noted upon entering the home was the warmth. It had gotten colder outside as the sun was setting, only the last twilight of the day remaining. The warmth of the house was greatly welcomed. Not that the cabin wasn't warm, but due to his and Katrina's fighting lately, it seemed colder than usual. Immediately following, he noticed the sweet smell of vanilla and lavender wafting through the air, giving it a sweet and savory character. He closed his eyes and inhaled.

"Crane," his eyes popped open and he was met with Abbie, standing at the entrance of the hallway holding a newly bathe Macey wrapped in a small bath robe with an attached hood covering her wet mass of curls, twirling Abbie's hair around her small fingers. He looked at her as if he had been caught red handed reveling in the warmth and inviting nature of her home. "You okay?" She asked giving him her usually concerned look that simultaneously let him know that she thought he was weird.

"Quite," he told her.

"Good," she replied. "You bought the cookies?" After picking Macey up they had gone back to the archives to finish up a little more work. They had then grabbed dinner with Jenn and Hawley before heading back to her place. She had had a lot to do including getting Macey into bed at a reasonable time and had loaned him her car to go and pick up some of his things from the cabin for the sleep over, as Macey was calling it, since Hawley had gotten him the sufficient identification to actually get a driver's license and he had surprisingly passed the test. One of the conditions she had loaned him the car under was that he picked up some cookie dough on his way back to her place.

She gave him instructions on how to bake the cookies, as she went back down the hall to put the child in her PJs.

After dressing Macey, she deposited the girl in the kitchen with Ichabod before going to take a shower herself. Instructing Ichabod that he was only to give her one cookie. Of course when she exited the shower six of the cookies were missing, to which Ichabod claimed he ate five of them, which she didn't believe. But she let it go since she had no proof. Its seems that Katrina wasn't the only one that Ichabod was a sucker for.

It wasn't until he finished his shower and found her reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets to Macey that the question was bought up about the books. Ichabod had said that he didn't know there were books.

Abbie replied with a "Yes. The books are always better than to movies."

"I know that," he informed her. "Why was I forced to watch the movies when you had the books?"

"First of all you weren't forced to watch anything. If I remember, you actually enjoyed the movies. And I don't trust just anyone with my Harry Potter books Crane," she had joked with him.

"Ah, the trust issue again," he retorted. "I should assume had Orion asked to be caught up on the latest literary works he would have easily gotten access to your books Ms. Mills."

Abbie's mouth fell open at his childishness. She opened her mouth to reply, but changed her mind at the last minute. Instead, she rose from the couch and retrieved the first book from the her secret stash at the back of her book case before handing it to Ichabod.

"Happy?" she asked sarcastically.

"Indeed," was his reply, as he took the book from her.

He had been a fan of the movies, so he was eager to actually read the book . He sat on one side of the sofa as Abbie resumed her seat next to Macey. The girl curled up next to her as she started to read from the book again. Surprisingly to Abbie, he actually read quietly and let her continue reading to Macey in peace. She figured his lack of questions was either due to his love for books and to figure them out on his own or the fact that he had already seen the movies, limiting the questions he had.

Abbie didn't stop reading until she felt the weight of Macey's head leaning into her side, she looked down to see the girl was asleep. She closed the book and leaned her head back on the couch. She was going to go to bed, she had planned on it anyway. She just needed to rest her eyes for a few minutes.

Ichabod was about to make a comment about what a shame it was that the movie didn't have nearly as much detail or information as the books, but stopped mid sentenced when he turned to see Abbie fast asleep, with Macey tucked into her side. He took a second to take in the site and couldn't help but to smile to himself. Macey as always was adorable and Abbie seemed so peaceful. Not at all like when she was running on all four cylinders, ready to take down demons and mortal criminals alike. He admired her, he really did. And on top of all that she had been doing lately, taking on the responsibility of caring for the child, and doing what he believed was a great job. Macey let out a soft sigh as she turned slightly in Abbie's arm causing the woman to stir herself, a slight frown crossing her face briefly, though she didn't open her eyes. It didn't seem like it was the most comfortable position. Perhaps this was one of the reasons that Abbie had been so tired lately. It didn't seem like she was resting very well on the couch with the girl lying half way across her with her knee pressing into her side. Perhaps he should take the child to her bed.

He closed the book and sat it on the coffee table. He then stood and walked over to them, allowing himself to glance at Abbie's face. He had always found her to be a beautiful woman, but she was his partner, so he did not allow himself to linger on the thought. He gently lifted Macey off of Abbie and the child stirred some before wrapping her arms around his neck, lying her head on his shoulder before seemingly falling back into a deep sleep.

He was about to take off down the hall towards the bedrooms but he heard Abbie groan behind him. He turned to see her rising from the couch, stretching a little.

"That child has to be the worst sleeper ever," she said as she walked behind him.

"Forgive me," he started, "I didn't mean to wake you."

""S'okay" she said sleepily as she began walking towards him.

She walked past him, her body brushing against his slightly as she was still half asleep and he was blocking most of the entrance to the hallway. He followed her as she headed towards the child's room. She clicked on the lights and went in to pull back the covers. He laid the child down and watched as she curled onto her side before Abbie pulled the covers back over her. He then watched as his partner, pulled some of her own hair back in order to lean over the child and place a kiss on her nose, causing her to crinkle her nose before giving a small pout and falling back to sleep.

He watched the scene and felt a tinge of regret and jealousy rise up in him. Which he found a little weird since he had no one to be jealous off. He felt a little like an outsider as he watched the scene unfold in front of him. He didn't like the feeling in the least bit.

Abbie laughed softly at the girl's reaction before she stood again and gave him a pat on the chest.

"Thanks," she told him. "She's not as light as she looks." He then watched as she made her way to the door, the shorts and tank top she had on doing very little to hide her womanly figure. He scolded himself and willed himself to look away. He found his eyes darting back to her, landing right where her shapely legs met her tight, rounded backside.

"The blankets are in the hall closet, on the top," she started as she turned to face him again. She stopped short, a confused look on her face as she briefly saw the look he was giving her before he quickly turned away from her. She had only had a small amount of time to try and decipher the look in his eyes. She probably wouldn't have thought much of it at all if he didn't seem so flustered, his fair skin turning a light shade of red in some areas.

He saw the look on her face, her eyebrows furrowing at him. He could feel himself blushing. "I know where they are?" he said quickly before exiting the room, leaving her standing there.

She stood a few more seconds, trying to put meaning to what had just happened, but in the end decided that she was too tired and probably imagining things. She turned on the night light, before flicking off the overhead lights and closed the door behind her, leaving a small crack just in case.

* * *

She barely remembered crawling into her bed the next morning when she woke up. She could see the sun rays shining through her window and looked over at her clock. Seven thirty. She would be late dropping Macey off and getting to work, but she didn't care. She hadn't slept through the night since bringing the child home. She stretched before climbing out of her bed and heading down the hall to congratulate the girl on spending her first full night alone in her room. When she got to Macey's door, however, she found an empty bed. She panicked for a short second before remembering she had a house guest. Maybe the girl was with him.

She walked into the living room and stopped in her tracks at the sight in front of her. She smiled at the adorableness that lay on her couch. She had expected to find them in the kitchen eating breakfast. She had half expected to find one of her kitchen appliances on fire, but not this. There on her couch lay Ichabod, the 18th century civil war captain and demon hunter with a curly headed four year old laying halfway across his chest, her small body secured between his and the couch. His right arm wrapped around her back, her head tucked under his chin, stray curls covering parts of his face, the stuffed bear he had given her tucked under her right arm. This was why she had been allowed to sleep through the night. As much as she wanted to stand there and muse over them, she couldn't they had work to do. So she went back into her bedroom, grabbed her cell off of the nightstand and took a few pictures before moving over them and lightly shaking Ichabod so they could get to work, school, and Witnessing.

* * *

**A/N: General reviews and constructive criticism welcomed. **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Next chapter. I'm really supposed to be doing other things with my time, but I'm procrastinating, so hope you enjoy it and leave reviews!**

**Oh and someone asked about Macey calling them Mommy and Daddy, which may come up a little later in the story since I already have some of this story thought out and I have several ways I'm trying to decide between doing it. Oh, and I am aware of some mistakes in previous chapters that I thought I had corrected in at least one chapter but apparently not, but I'll try to correct them when I get a chance. Again, Enjoy.**

* * *

"It seems this one is," he paused as if contemplating, "blueberry?"

He continued to chew on the soft tubing trying to get the rest of the juices from it. If he had to admit, it wasn't the tastiest treat he had had since arriving to the twenty first century, but he figured that was more due to the packaging than the part that was actually meant to be eaten.

"Nnhea," Abbie, half agreed half disagreed as she chewed on a wax stick similar to the one he was chewing on with the same colored contents inside. "Maybe, blue raspberry?"

He took the stick from his mouth and let his hand drop to his side.

"Well that is ridiculous," he told her, "there is no such thing as a blue raspberry, Leftenant."

His seriousness over the whole thing caused her to let out a giggle as she too let her hand drop to her side. They were sitting in her dark hallway, with only the table lamp and the moonlight coming from the window at the end of the hall providing them enough light to see each other. He had been splitting his nights between her place and the cabin, which Katrina wasn't pleased with. It seemed that he had been serious about helping her out more with Macey. The night before, he had even shown up to her door with a bag of groceries. She had warned him that he should probably build up a savings since he had only recently began receiving a paycheck from the precinct, and that was only after she had been able to talk Sheriff Reyes into paying him for helping her solve the odd goings on around Sleepy Hollow. Reyes was not entirely aware of what she and Ichabod were working on since they spent most of their time in the archives, but she was sure due to the two Captains before her that Abbie could be trusted, and due to Irving's approval of them spending so much time away from the office that they were actually working on something pretty important. It also helped that every now and again, they would show up in the middle of one of her own investigations, often providing crucial information or solving it before she and her team did. He had only replied that he intended to take on the full responsibilities that his guardianship entailed.

The wax candy had come from them walking past a candy store on their way to the car after having dinner with Jenn and Hawley. Macey had pulled them into the store and after informing the girl that she could only get one treat, she, Jenn, and Hawley had proceed to buy almost a fourth of the store. The problem was that they had never been in this store before, never really paid much attention to it, but was pleased to find that it contained a lot of treats they remembered from when they were younger, which she had thought to be discontinued and were hard to come by. This was part of how they had come to be in the position they were in now. She had wanted Ichabod to try her childhood treats.

"It's crazy," she said looking at the remaining wax sticks in the pack, "these were sooo much better when I was a kid. Now it just feels like I'm giving myself dry mouth and cancer."

"Hmm," was Ichabod's reply as he sat the chewed stick down and picked up the pack of bonkers, plucking one from the squared packaging in order to get rid of the taste of wax that was currently left in his mouth.

"Are you still there?" they heard a small voice say from the opened door to the right of him.

Abbie got up on her knees and crawled over to the gate that was currently occupying the door of Macey's room, preventing her from leaving her space. This was the solution they had come up with in order to help the child to feel more comfortable and safe with sleeping alone in her own bed. She had bought a baby gate and placed it in the door frame of the girl's room, leaving the door open but blocking her from leaving. They had then agreed that they would stay out in the hallway for a little while just to make sure that she would be okay and so she wouldn't be alone until she actually fell asleep.

"Of course we're still here," she told her, "we told you we would be, didn't we?"

"Yeah," Macey replied back looking towards the gate. Abbie could see that the child had crawled from under the covers and had crawled to the end of her bed, preparing to hop out of it.

"Well we kept our promise, you have to keep yours," she told her. "You have to try to fall asleep on your own and not leave you room until morning. Okay?"

"Okaay," Macey said sounding defeated. Abbie smiled as she watched the child crawl back up the bed before sliding beneath the covers again.

"Com'on deal'em," she said nudging Ichabod's leg with her own as she took a seat facing him, her back against the opposite wall.

He grabbed the deck of old maid cards, and proceed to do as she instructed. "I still do not understand why we could not play Basset," he told her.

"Because we don't have the cards to play that, because they don't sell them anymore" she told him matter of factly as she finished taking out her pairs before pulling a card from his hand, hoping that it wasn't the old maid.

It wasn't until she had been beaten four games in a row that she noticed the scratch on one of the back of the cards. Her brows furrowed and his mirrored hers as he wondered what she was looking at. She leaned in a little closer to see better in the dim lighting.

"Let me see those cards," he moved his cards away from her.

"I will not let you see my cards," he told her. "You may be trying to trick me but I know that this is not how this game goes."

"Let me see the cards Crane," she said, rising to her knees, preparing to take them if need be.

"No," he responded.

"Let me," she stated as she grabbed the top of the cards trying to pull them from his hands but he pulled back.

"No," he responded causing a smile to come to Abbie's face. She found the entire thing funny. The fact that he was cheating at a child's card game and the fact that he was fighting so hard to hide it, but she was going to prove her point. She hadn't however realized that she had crawled into his lap, straddling him in their fight for the cards.

"Leften…," Ichabod started as he was becoming more aware of the heat radiating from her body into his as she grew closer, the short cotton shorts and tank top not providing much of a barrier to hide the figure that was becoming increasingly harder for him to ignore. Not to mention the scent emanating from her that reeked of toasted almonds and vanilla cream. In his fight to not let her get the cards out of his hand and not to sink his teeth into her just to get a taste of her, he ended up toppling them over, him on top of her nestled between her thighs. He immediately became completely distracted as he could now feel her soft voluptuous body against his.

Abbie, being completely in competitive mode now, and not thinking anything of the wrestling match they had engaged in since she had done it many times with friend and lovers alike. She just knew that she was going to get those cards. Noticing that Ichabod was not taking full advantage of his position, though she was unaware of why, she used the opportunity to flip them over so that she was again straddling him.

He was only mildly surprised but the sudden change of position as he was becoming more and more aloof the longer her body stayed in contact with his. It wasn't until he felt her backside slightly brush against his manhood that he let out a breathy warning of, "Abigail," and released the cards as he could no longer manage to hold on to them. His hands rested on her hips briefly before he pulled away letting them fall to her thighs, he hesitated only a second his fingers flexing as if wanting to squeeze instead of release, before he decided it would probably be better to not touch her at all. He let his hands fall at his sides, resting on the floor.

"I knew it," she proclaimed from atop him, unaware of the predicament he was in. "You should be shame of yourself, Crane," she finished smiling down at him, clearly amused but not making his predicament any better. She held up the Old Maid card in her hand, the card with the minuscule scratch on the back alerting the person looking at the back of the card not to pull it from the other player's hand.

"Are you guys playing without me?" Macey asked causing Abbie to look up and Ichabod to turn oddly to look at her as he was still pinned to the floor. They could see the child's curly hair sticking out over the top of the gate, her little hands holding her steady as she stood on her toes in order to see over it.

"Nooo," Abbie said, as she felt guilty for being caught by goofing off by a child.

"Of course not," Ichabod added in a voice just as ridiculous as hers. She couldn't help the laugh that escaped her.

She was aware of the grunt that escaped him, but thought it was more from her lightly pressing her knee into his chest, signaling the finality of her win rather than the fact that her backside had again brushed against his member. He watched, holding his breath, as she again crawled over him and towards Macey's door.

"We weren't playing Mace," she told the child as she knelt in front of the gate. "Ichabod and I were just trying to make sure there wasn't anything wrong with your cards."

"Yeah," Ichabod agreed as he was finally able to get his wits about him again. "But the real question is young lady," he said crawling his way over to the gate, "what are you doing out of bed?"

"I thought you were playing," the girl said as she began to toy with the wholes on the gate as she looked down, putting on this innocent façade that Abbie was starting to notice she put on more when she felt like she was in trouble with Ichabod. "I wanted to play too."

"Well even if we were playing, which we were not," he quickly corrected causing Abbie to smile again at the fact they were trying to cover up their shenanigans from a four year old, "it is still of no reason for you to break your promise, now is it?"

"No," Macey said still not looking at them.

"Then back to bed with you," he told her.

"Okay," she said before turning to scurry back to bed.

Abbie waited until Macey was back under the covers before she turned to Ichabod and threw the cards at his chest. "I can't believe you were trying to cheat a little girl at Old Maid."

"I assure you I was not," he said offended.

She just looked at him with a look that said, 'Really? Because you were caught read handed.'

He looked down before continuing his defense. "It was Miss Jenny whom I was trying to get the upper hand on. Her boisterous boasting can be quite irritating."

This caused Abbie to break out into a new fit of giggles.

"Abbie?" she heard Macey's voice again.

"Not playing," was her response. "Now go to sleep."

* * *

"Feels like we haven't done this in forever," he said with a smile.

Abbie forced a smile before quickly jumping straight to the point. "What did you want to talk to me about Luke?" They had already been sitting with their coffee for three full minutes. She didn't want to have to stay much past the last sip of her coffee. Not that she hated him, this was just awkward seeing as she had an idea of where the conversation was going to go.

He looked at her, his smile saddening a little. "I just wanted us to talk Abbie. That's all," he told her. "We never really got any time to do that after you decided to stay."

"We've talked plenty," she told him, not impressed and not liking where he was trying to take them.

"Yeah, but not about us," he told her. "I mean, we were in a pretty serious relationship, at least I thought." She looked up at him for a while before looking away. She felt bad, she really did, it was true, they had never really talked about what had happened between them, she had never allowed them to. "Then we end it, thinking you are going to be hundreds of miles away, then you're not and our relationship just," he paused and her eyes flickered back up to him waiting for him to finish. "Abbie, I was in love with you. I'm still in love with you."

She looked away from him and back towards the floor. They just sat there for a few moments, him starring at her, waiting for a reply or some type of reaction and her trying to avoid eye contact with him. She didn't know what to say to him. She had loved him, yes and there was even a time when she had thought that she was in love with him, but she wasn't. And the time between them ending their relationship and her deciding not to move to Quantico had allowed her the space to see that. That was why she had never tried to start up their relationship again. She didn't want to waste either of their time, she didn't want to lead him on anymore. She didn't want to hurt him. Sure he could come on too strong and as a bit of an asshole sometimes but underneath it all he was a genuinely good person. He just wasn't as socially aware of himself and the way he came off to other people sometimes.

She brought the coffee cup up to her mouth and took a sip, still avoiding eye contact.

He scoffed, disapprovingly. "That's it," he told her in disbelief. "You have nothing to say? I tell you that I'm in love with you and you have nothing to say."

He sat back in his chair, shaking his head as he finally began to realize that she did not reciprocate his feelings.

"Luke, I'm sorry," she told him on the verge of tears.

"Is it him?" he questioned her.

She furrowed her brows at him. "Him?"

"The colonial weirdo," he told her, his uglier side beginning to show.

She shook her head and smiled to herself as she wiped away the lone tear that had fallen. She didn't know how many times she was going to have to tell him this for him to understand that she and Ichabod were just partners.

"You know that's not what this is about," she told him.

"Do I?" he questioned her sarcastically. "I mean he is the reason you decided to give up your dream of joining the FBI and decided to stay here in Sleepy Hollow. A place you were pretty excited about leaving. And I come back and you've got a kid with the guy. So no Abbie, I don't really know anything."

"I'm leaving," she said as she began to gather her things.

"You better be careful," he told her, "because obviously Andy knows something since he's running around here crying about protecting you from something, which I'm willing to bet it has something to do with Blast from the Past."

She was just about to rise from her seat, but stopped and turned back to him at his last words.

"You saw Andy?"

He looked at her a little confused as to why she was so interested in his interactions with Andy. But he did noticed that it had kept her from leaving, and he didn't want her to leave, so he engaged her.

"Yeah," he began, "before I left."

"What did he say?" she asked him.

"He was acting weird," he told her. "Even more than normally. He was going on about saving you and threatening me to stay away from you. I mean I know he's always had a thing for you," he tried but she cut him off.

"Did he say anything else?" she asked him.

"No," he said still confused as to why she was so interested in Andy. He knew that she wasn't interested in him like that. She had made that clear on multiple occasions, to him and to Andy, although the man never truly gave up his persuit.

"Listen to me," she started, leaning in to him, "you need to stay away from Andy."

"Abbie, I'm not afraid of Andy. I mean he freaked me out a little because he was acting strange, but…"

"You should be afraid of him," she cut him off.

"It's just Andy," he told her.

"Luke, just promise me if you see him again you won't engage him."

"Why?" he questioned. "What's going on?"

She looked around the café, deciding if now would be a good time to catch Luke up to speed on some of the stuff that had been going on and deciding against it. "Look, there is a lot that has gone on since you've been gone, and I'll catch you up on it when the time is right,"

"Abbie," he tried to interject to tell her that now would be a great time.

"I promise," she continued. "But in the meantime, you have to trust me and promise me that you will stay away from Andy."

He just stared into her eyes, deciding if he should challenge her on this or not. But he could tell by her tone that she was serious and that she was genuinely concerned for him. He conceded as he threw his hands up in the air. "Alright," he said, then repeated it in a louder, firmer tone.

She gave him a nod before grabbing her bag and standing. She took a step away from him before turning and placing a quick peck on his cheek. Then she walked out of the café.

She threw her bag in the passenger seat before she hopped into the driver's seat. She let out a huff as she pulled out of the parking space. Good, she thought to herself. On top of everything else, Andy was still running around doing God knows what. From the way he would talk to her whenever they crossed paths, she was pretty sure that he thought that he was doing the right thing, which also let her know that there was something she had missed. She had been informed on multiple occasions that there were people planted all over Sleepy Hollow that knew about their mission and the war that was going on. It was clear to her now that Andy was one of those people as he seemed to have made a deal with Moloch before she even knew that he existed. Well not before she knew he existed, but before she was forced to acknowledge his existence. She just wondered how she had missed the chance to save her friend.

She pulled up to her duplex and made her way up to the front door. Ichabod had been helping out more with Macey and she had to admit, though she was hesitant at first, she had come to appreciate his help. Sure he wasn't the most up to date on what it took to take care of a child or how to go about getting it done but he was trying. And she also liked having him around the house when she came home. She hadn't realized how lonely her home had been before Macey and him. Though Macey kept her busy, it was nice to have an adult to come home to every other night or so. Plus she could delegate tasks to him that often helped to cut down the load on her.

She unlocked the door and was met by crying. Well most of the time he helped to make things better.

"Ichabod?" she called out as she took off her coat and hung it on one of the hooks next to the door. As soon as she rounded the corner into her living room she was met by the sight of Macey running from the hallway and towards her. Well at least she had her pajamas on, that part was done. She picked the girl up as she was reaching out her hands to her.

"What happened?" she asked the crying child, still not catching sight of Ichabod anywhere.

"He gots soap in my eyes," she told her.

Before she could reply, she heard his voice coming from the entrance of the hallway.

"Oh for heaven's sake," he told her. "I rinsed it out."

"It burned," the child replied.

"Is it still burning?" Abbie asked prying her hand away from her face to inspect her eyes better.

"No," she stated as her hand went back up to her eyes and she began rubbing again. The girl then broke down into another fit of tears. Throwing her arms around Abbie's neck and burying her face in her shoulder. She just stroked the child's back absentmindedly. She knew the girl was fine, she could tell that her eyes had been thoroughly de-soaped due to the wet spots on her pajamas and the fact that her face was almost dripping with water. She knew that the girl was just tired and in need of a good night's rest. It was Friday, and she had learned that as the week went on the child became more exhausted and Thursday's and Friday's could sometimes end with tears for any random event, no matter how small including a half of peanut butter and jelly sandwich being dropped on the floor even after another whole sandwich had been set in front of the child.

"Someone should inform this company of their false advertisement," he said referring to the no tears on the shampoo bottle. "It should really be against the law."

Abbie laughed as she took the bottle from him and proceeded down the hall with Macey, who had thankfully stopped crying, still in her arms.

"She's fine," she told him. "No permanent damage, you'll be forgiven by tomorrow morning. Just help me get her into some dry jammies."

She could tell that Ichabod felt bad about the shampoo incident, but she had tried to explain to him that Macey's tears had little to do with the shampoo as she herself had gotten some shampoo into the girl's eyes since the child treated bath time as her own personal Moby Dick mission. You literally had to chase her around the bathtub to get her cleaned. Her words seemed to do little, but the fact that Macey had effectively crawled out of her arms and into his at her insistence that the girl put on the green Tinkerbell pajamas instead of the purple Tangled pajamas since it was cool out and the green ones would keep her warmer. The standoff had ended with Macey falling asleep in Ichabod's arms in just her undies and a blanket wrapped around her, which had left Abbie and Ichabod with the mission of maneuvering her into the pajamas of their choice without waking her and having to face another cranky tantrum.

* * *

**A/N: Anything more specific or questions that you would normally have around this part that you want me to try to incorporate into or try to answer through the story. I'm trying to think of some issues that may come up in situations like this and I have a good list of things that I want to include in the story but I'm pretty sure I'm missing some good ones. **

**Review!**


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Alright, lets try this again. And anyone hear anything about the renewal status?

* * *

The children were sitting around doing finger paintings. They had been discussing the paintings but the subjected turned to something more serious after Payten had asked Brayden if he would come by his house and play on Saturday to which the boy replied that he couldn't because he had to go spend the weekend with his father. To which one of the girls asked why his Mommy and Daddy didn't live in the same house. This part of the discussion had been short lived as he had tried to explain it, but it was a little confusing to the children, but they still needed to find a way to play with each other while school was out.

"Maybe your Mom can bring you over to my house and my mom can bring us to park," Ciara said to Riley. The girls agreed before Ciara turned to Macey who had been quiet the last few minutes. She didn't have a Mommy or a Daddy, at least she didn't think she did. She had Abbie, Ichabod, Jenny, and Hawely…sometimes. The only thing she remembered was waking up at the hospital one day and Abbie being nice enough to let her come and live with her so she didn't have to stay there anymore. She had Abbie and she loved her very much, but she had to admit the idea of having a mommy was pretty tempting and the fact that she didn't have one made her sad.

"You wanna come Macey?" Ciara asked before Riley joined in.

"Yeah ask your Mom if you can come with us."

"I don't gots a Mommy," Macey replied, a little sad.

This caused Payten to laugh. "Noo, everyone gots a Mommy."

"Na uhn," Ciara corrected. "Jamie doesn't. My mommy said that his mommy went to heaven to go live with god."

"That means she's dead," Brayden informed them. "That's when you go to sleep forever. That's what my brother told me when my Gam Gam died."

The children all got quiet. They knew someone going to sleep forever wasn't a good thing. That meant you never got to play with them again or do anything fun with them. You never got to see them again except for in pictures and home videos.

"Is that what happened to your mommy?" Riley asked sadly.

Before the girl could reply one of the boys interjected again. "What about that lady that always picks you up at the end of the day? I thought she was your mommy."

Macey looked at the boy in thought. She had never thought of that, mainly because she had never called Abbie mommy. Everyone else called their mommy, mommy. But when she thought about it, it did make sense. Abbie did everything for her that everyone else's mommy did for them. She made her cookies, she bought her toys, she let her sleep next to her when she got scared at night, although she didn't have to do that as much anymore, a fact of which she was proud. She kissed her boo boos and tucked her in at night. She loved Abbie, more than anything. Abbie took care of her and protected her. Maybe Abbie was her mommy, which was a relief because even though she wanted a Mommy very badly, she didn't want to have to leave Abbie to go live with her, so it was nice that they were one in the same.

"Oh yeah," she replied to the boys question, in a seemingly happier tone, causing a few of the children to laugh.

"You forgotted your mommy, silly," Ciara laughed before the children went back to their paintings and less sad discussions.

* * *

"Let me get this straight," Abbie asked him as she turned away from the window which she was watching Macey and the little girl from next door play in the backyard of her duplex, "you want Macey and me to have dinner with you and Katrina."

He stared at her from his seat in the chair. He wanted to reply verbally with a yes. He wanted to nod his head more forcefully, but he had learned a while back that when Abby spoke to him or anyone else in this sarcastic tone that she was using right now that she wasn't necessarily on board with what she was hearing. And he also knew that this was a bit of a touchy subject with her.

"Why?" she asked him, not sure what his angle was, but having an idea.

"Because," he told her, "Katrina is still very upset with me about taking legal guardianship of Macey and continuing to spend so much time with her," he paused, before deciding to tell the entire truth, "and you, knowing how you feel about Henry."

She gave him a look that implied she was not convinced, which made him become a little defensive as he needed to find a way to mend this part of his life preferably together, and though he had gotten Katrina to agree to it, neither she nor Abbie were being very helpful with the whole thing. It was like they were working against him with every step that he made.

"Don't give me that look, Abigail," he said taking his rebuttal to 'that look' from Jenny's book.

Abbie looked back to the window shortly to make sure the children were still easily in her line of sight before she folded her arms and turned back to him. She could tell that he was growing frustrated. If that was more with her or Katrina was still to be seen, because even though Katrina was his wife and it was clear that Abbie was the more responsible, mature one of the two so of course he expected her to be the bigger person. But she really didn't want to be the bigger person this time. She took in the look on his face, his eyes were a little wider than normal, not his normal light bulb moment wide but different. There was something there that was more unhinged. His brow drew in as if he was challenging her to challenge him and she briefly had a flashback to the time he had called both of them out when they were back at the cabin having the discussion about Headless and Henry. And at the auditory memory of that deep, commanding voice, not like he would normally use when he was being crazy or giving her sass, or being a sweetheart when telling her how much she meant to him, she felt something akin to an electrical jolt shoot from the center of her heart to the meeting of her thighs, warming her lower abdomen in the process. She mentally questioned herself but had managed to keep it together on the outside.

He stared back at her, making sure that he had her attention before he continued. "Now, I have arranged for the four of us to have dinner at Cercle Rouge."

"Cercle Rouge?" she stated cutting him off before he could continue. "That bougey French restaurant down near the pier?"

He just stared back at her. So he expected her to bring a four year old to this fancy restaurant and keep her tantrums at bay while managing to not get into a fight with Katrina. Macey was a well behaved kid, but there were just some places smart people just did not bring kids and this place fell into the reasoning 'because it'll bore them to pieces'. She figured Katrina had picked the restaurant. She had heard both him and her talk about her love for French cuisine.

"Whatever," she told him.

"I've made reservations for seven," he tried again, but again she cut him off.

"Make it six," she stated turning back to the window, "and I have to leave by eight."

He was about to reply and ask why but decided not to as a streak of lightening cracked through the sky followed by thunder and a pair of screams as the girls headed back towards the house, Abbie going to the back door to open it for them.

She looked up into the sky from the back door as the girls ran past her and into the house and noticed that the weather had progressed more rapidly than she thought it would have.

"Can you do me a favor and walk Amanda home?" she asked him. The sky was going to open up any minute and she still needed to get dinner ready. It was almost completely dark outside, she figured the weather had a large part to do with it since it wasn't even six yet, and she still had to get dinner finished.

"Of course," he said standing from his spot at the table.

"I'll call her mom and let her know you're on the way," she said grabbing the phone.

Macey had gone with him to walk her friend home, which served to be a bad idea since by the time he returned there had been several more streaks of lightening and loud cracks of thunder which had caused him to have to carry both the girls the second half of the way to Amanda's house and he returned to Abbie with Macey holding on to him for dear life, her face buried in his neck as if trying to hide from the weather.

"What happened?" Abbie asked as he walked into the kitchen with the girl, both of them still with their coats on as Macey seemed not to be interested in loosening her vice grip on him anytime soon.

"Oh, she'll be alright," he said rubbing the child's back, not seemingly eager to let go of her himself, "it's the weather that's gotten to her, I'm afraid."

It took some coaxing from both of them to get the girl to let go of Ichabod long enough to sit down at the table and have dinner, which she did end up sitting on his lap to finish the second half of her dinner since the weather seemed to be getting worse. By the time she had the child bathe and ready for bed it was pouring and lightning and thunder was coming frequently. They had taken turns cuddling with the child in Abbie's bed while the other took a shower.

"No, stay," Macey cried as she pulled on the long sleeved shirt that Ichabod had on, another loud crack of thunder causing her to jump. Abbie had just gotten out of the shower and crawled into the other side of her bed prompting Ichabod to get out of the other side. She didn't want him to leave, she felt more hidden from the thunder with them on both sides of her, she wanted to sleep in the middle.

"I am just going to be in the other room, sweetheart," Ichabod said as he looked at the child with concern in his eyes.

"Please, I'm scared," she told him.

"Macey, I'm here," Abbie tried. "You don't have to be scared, I'll be right here."

"Who's going to protect me from this window?" Macey questioned pointing to the window on the other side of Abbie's bed.

She couldn't help but to smile at the child's logic. If only life were really that simple. But for Macey it was for now and she didn't see any reason to deprive the child of such a simple comfort.

"Just sleep in here, Crane," Abbie said as she laid her head on her pillow.

"Leftenant, I don't think," he started.

"It's fine," she told him. "Just until she falls asleep. Then you can get back on the couch. Trust me sharing a bed with someone doesn't mean now what it meant back then. There will be no ruining of anyone's virtue or stonings that will come from this, trust me. So just climb in so we can all get some rest. I'm exhausted."

He looked at her for a few seconds and she playfully rolled her eyes because she knew that he was still overthinking it. She smiled none the less. She thought that it was cute, these little moral dilemmas that he made for himself and wrestled with when they really weren't an issue anymore. Well, save for the fact that he was married, that would be the only questionable thing. But at the end of the day they were still just two friends sharing a bed with completely benign intentions and a child between them. Though the marriage thing did give her some pause, but whatever. She was tired and the rain beating heavily against the windows and side of the house were not helping, as she felt her eyelids growing heavier.

He looked down into Macey's eyes, which were now brimming with tears before looking back over at Abbie who had turned her back to him, seemingly falling into a deep sleep as she had become more still, her breathing more even.

"Please Ichabod," he heard the child's voice, causing him to look back down at her again.

"Oh alright," he told her, not wanting her to start crying again or to wake Abbie, "but only until you fall asleep," he said sticking one of his long fingers in the air as if to further his point. The girl scooted over bumping into Abbie, causing her to groan a little as she made room for Ichabod to crawl under the covers.

It wasn't until he was settled that she snuggled closer to him, telling him goodnight as she closed her eyes and started drift off herself. He had all intentions of crawling out of the bed as soon as the child had fallen asleep, but he honestly didn't know if she had fallen asleep first or if he had. He hadn't realized that he was so tired.

* * *

It was early morning when Macey woke up having to go to the bathroom and thankfully the weather had gotten a little better. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, as she figured out how to go about it. She then realized that she was in Abbie's room.

"Abbie," she called softly, but got no answer. She tried again this time shaking the woman gently. "I gotta potty." There was no response, only a soft sigh from Abbie who was clearly in a deep sleep. She rubbed her eyes again and assessed the situation. She was a big girl, something she had come to take pride in. She could do this. Abbie still had the nightlight from when she used to sleep in the room with here plugged into the wall and it illuminated the wall next to Abbie's bathroom, which was where she needed to go. So she crawled to the end of the bed and climbed to the floor, her little feet moving quickly as she was starting to realize that maybe there wasn't as much light coming from the nightlight as she had originally thought. She let out a sigh of relief as she stood on her toes and finally managed to switch on the light in the bathroom, causing the room she was currently standing in to light up.

She did her business and washed her hand before she headed back to the door, deciding to leave the light on since she didn't want to face the almost complete darkness anymore. She ran back over to Abbie's bed, only to find that Abbie had partially rolled into the middle of the bed. This prompted the girl to crawl in on the edge of the bed, nudging her little body against Abbie to get her to make room for her. This caused Abbie to wake up partially and move back in the bed a little, only stopping when her body came into contact with something which she didn't really register that was the reason she had stopped scooting since she was still mostly asleep. She wrapped her arms around the child as she felt Macey tucking herself close to her and placed a kiss on the top of the child's head as they both fell back to sleep.

* * *

The first thing he registered was the faint sounds of a television coming from somewhere nearby. The next thing was a warm body lying in his arms, a head resting on his chest with soft tendrils of hair tickling his nose. He pulled the body closer to his, caressing the soft skin that was exposed wherever it was that his hand was resting. He inhaled deeply the rich sent of vanilla and suddenly froze. His eyes popped open as he realized that he was not back in the eighteenth century with his wife Katrina. He wasn't even in the twenty first century with her. He was with his partner. He was in Abbie's house in her bed. He looked down to assess the situation further. She was currently half lying on top of him, her head resting across his chest. His hand still absentmindedly caressing the skin on the small of her back where the loose long sleeved shirt she had worn to bed had ridden up some. His first instinct was to push her away and jump out of bed, but he immediately felt like an awful person at the thought and hadn't had the chance to enact this thought. He suddenly thought, he now realized this new aged lack of discretion when it came to showing sentiments for someone. The thought of him waking Abbie by pushing himself away from her and possibly causing her to tumble to the floor in the process made him sad, and suddenly a modern tradition he once looked down upon didn't seem so bad anymore. Maybe it was a good thing that people were so open with their emotions towards each other. After all, he did feel that the hugs he often shared with Abbie allowed him to better express his fondness of her better than a chaste kiss upon the hand as they were parting ways would, which was what one would have done in his days. He had noticed that people were better with words in his day, and maybe the people of this day and age were making up for in body language what they could not express in words. Because heavens knows the English language of today was lacking in every aspect that he had held it so dearly in back when he was a professor.

He was pulled from his thoughts by a soft sigh that seemed to come from Abbie, though her eyes remained closed. She stirred a little, nuzzling against his neck, her left leg coming to rest across his slightly, her knee only inches away from his crotch as she clutched softly at his shirt. Okay, no matter how much he was coming to understand this new age showing of affection he was still a married man and he was sure that he was even beginning to push the cultural boundaries of the twenty first century.

He cleared his throat, and tried to pry himself…from under her, but didn't make it far as she moved with him. He also realized that he probably would have been more effective if he had taken his arm from around her, there for not effectively moving her with him. Maybe that would have helped. He let his left arm fall from around her back and tried again, still with no success.

"Umm, Leftenant," he tried as he poked the hand that was on his chest. "Leftenant." She did not wake, but she did stir again, nuzzling further into his neck this time her soft, plush lips brushing against the pulse point on his neck. He went stiff again and inhaled sharply. He found his arm closing back around her drawing her closer again, and immediately reprimanded himself, letting her go again.

He looked up at the ceiling and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to take a minute to gather himself, but again was pulled from his thoughts, by Abbie's voice.

"What are you doing, Crane?" his eyes popped open and he looked down at her, the accusatory look on her face.

He suddenly felt offended. Here she was, having curled her small, soft, firm….tempting body against his, causing his mind to spiral to places he'd rather not have it go and here she was accusing him. She was the one that had told him to 'just sleep in here, Crane'. This was her fault, if anyone's

"What am I doing?" he asked her rhetorically. "You're the one that's traveled the distance of the pacific," he motioned the width of the Queen sized bed to make his exaggerated point, "to push…," he paused, his hands lifting again now motioning to her body, "up against me."

Her brows furrowed, though she did find it a little amusing the way Ichabod motioned to specific parts of her as he tried to prove his point. She didn't miss the way his eyes drifted either. "Oh please, old man," she said finally lifting her head from his chest, using her arm to push up against him, her hand still resting on his chest. "as if I would…" she tried to continue but their friendly banter was cut short by the four year old that had popped up in the door.

"I'm hungry," she told them. "Can I have pancakes?"

"How long have you been awake?" Abbie asked her, finally rolling away from her partner to get a good stretch in before climbing out of bed. Ichabod instantly missing the heat from and and feel of her body in his arms, though he hid it well, at least he hoped.

"I don't know," Macey told her, with a nonchalant shoulder shrug. "I watched two cartoons." She said. Abbie looked at the clock as she pulled on her robe, feeling the cool air of the morning nipping at her skin. It was now eight thirty, so she figured the girl had been up since at least seven thirty.

"I'm hungry," Macey stated again as Abbie took another minute to stretch her limbs.

"What kinda pancakes do you want?" she said as she made her way to the door.

"Umm," Macey thought as Abbie scooped her up, "Banana!"

"Mmm that sounds good," Abbie agreed as they made their way down the hall. "And maybe we can add some walnuts."

"Yeah," the child agreed. "And we have to make bacon for Ichabod."

Ichabod smiled at her last words. Mornings at Abbie's were always nice, especially weekend mornings. He always got a good, hot homemade breakfast and even during the week there was always a lot of things going on in the morning between them getting ready for their day and he and Abbie trying to get Macey dressed, fed, and to school on time with everything that she would need for the day. Abbie's bed was also extremely soft, but firm, much like her body…immediately he halted his thoughts, scolding himself a few seconds later for allowing himself to drift in that direction, again. When he found it a little more difficult to pull himself back from that train of thought he hopped up from the bed, thinking it would be best to leave her bed where his senses were being bombarded with her. After all, banana walnut pancakes sounded heavenly.

* * *

A/N: Oooh, what's going to happen at this dinner? Any thoughts on this chapter?


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: So, I'm just going to assume that everyone is or isn't voting since we're losing in the E tv pole. Or it's the fact that more adults watch sleepy hollow while more teenagers watch vampire diaries and they really just don't have anything else to do than sit online and vote. Which I can't even be mad at. Oh to be a teenager again...sigh. Anyways, on with the next chapter. And can someone let fox know that if they need a show runner, they only need send me a copy of the job description and I'm pretty sure that I can make a decent attempt at it, lol. I mean seriously though, I'd give it a shot.

* * *

"Can you zip me up?" Abbie asked Jenny as she walked into the living room.

"Ooh, look at you," was her sister's reply as she stood up from the couch to go and zip the back of the black dress.

"You look pretty, Macey commented from standing on the couch.

"Thank you," Abbie smiled at her before telling her to sit not stand on the couch. The girl did as instructed, before hopping to the floor and giving a twirl, to show off the dress that Abbie and Jenny had picked for her earlier during the day.

The dress was black at the top and the bottom half splayed out, though not enough to make it look poofy, and it had large black and white horizontal stripes, a red satin belt stitched around the middle. Abbie and Jenny instantly fell in love with the dress once they had wrestled it on the child in the store's fitting room. Okay, so this was one of the fun parts of having a kid. Besides watching them grow and develop into little individuals the older they got, and not to mention that Macey had an awesome personality. She was sweet and kind, with little kiddy tantrum-y streaks mixed in between that gave her spunk, and not to mention she was goofy and loved to joke around. But besides all that, Abbie also got to dress her up in all of these cute little clothes.

"Look at me," she said still twirling.

"You look beautiful baby," Abbie told her.

"Like a little baby doll," Jenny told her. "Oh, which reminds me Abbs, I wanna take her shopping next weekend."

"She's not a doll Jenn," Abbie corrected her sister. She had had this conversation earlier with Jenn, and knew where her comments were going.

"Aunt Jenny said it was my party dress," the child replied shifting from leg to leg as if doing a little dance. Jenny gave her a huge grin at the child repeating what she had taught her, both with the party dress comment and dance and the Aunt Jenny part. Her smiled was quickly erased though as she noticed the scowl that Abbie was sending her.

"It's not a party dress baby, it's a dinner dress," Abbie corrected her.

Jenny shook her head at Macey once Abbie turned her back letting her know that the party dress comment still stood. The child giggled silently.

Jenny then turned back to her sister giving her attire for the night a once over. It was an all black dress that was form fitting, a little loser at the bottom to give the dress a more innocent look. The black straps lay a little closer to the midline with the neckline drawn in to make the top of the dress look as though it were being pulled towards the middle. It was a simple yet elegant dress. It really flattered Abbie's figure, Jenny thought.

"Speaking of party dresses," Jenny said, as she followed Abbie down the hall, leaving Macey to finish watching cartoons.

"Well it was the only thing I had for the occasion," Abbie said with an eye roll. "It's not like I make it a habit of going to these types of restaurants."

It was true. It wasn't that she didn't like going to these types of restaurants. She really did, on special occasions or every once in a while when she felt like really getting dressed up to go out for dinner. But usually she just liked lazing around either her or one of her friends homes enjoying the company of people she held dear, preferably in a pair of comfy sweats or yoga pants, not sitting around a bunch of pretentious assholes pretending to enjoy each other's company.

"Mmm," Jenny hummed. "Are you sure this isn't for Ichabod?"

Abbie gave her a look, partially confused. "Jenny, this is all for Ichabod. It was his dumb idea, remember."

"Yeah, I know that," she told her as she flicked a piece of the woman's hair with her finger in a playful manner. "But I'm not talking about that. I was talking about this." She made her point by pointing at the dress and heels that Abbie had on.

"Yeah," Abbie humored her, "because otherwise I would show up to this overly expensive restaurants in my pajamas."

"Com'on Abbie," Jenny taunted her. "Don't tell me this isn't for him at least a little bit. I'm sure you had dress in there somewhere that showed less cleavage and less legs."

"Well you know what Jenn, if I was trying to seduce Ichabod Crane, that is probably the dress I would have worn," Abbie said sternly as she turned back to the mirror to finish applying her make up.

Jenny thought about it for a second before she started laughing, it was true, at least she thought. This caused Abbie to laugh too, because she was also a little confused on what got Ichabod's rocks off. It could be the type of dress she had on now or it could be full eighteenth century attire where women's dress were only an inch of fabric short of a turtle neck. She'd be lying though if she didn't only slightly hope that being in the twenty first century for the last couple of years had served to sway him a little towards her style of dress for the night.

"You sleeping here tonight?" Abbie asked her as she turned around and placed her lipstick in her clutch.

"Naw, I'm going to head out a little bit later," she told her.

"K then, see you tomorrow," she gave Jenny a quick peck on the cheek.

"Yeah," Jenny confirmed. "Oh but I can babysit tonight if you need me to."

"Good night Jenn," Abbie told her. She then proceeded to get her and Macey's coat, the little red double breasted flair coat with black buttons being her favorite part of Macey's attire. Okay so maybe Jenny was right a little bit, Macey was ridiculously adorable and that made her all the more fun to dress up. Not to mention that Jenny had taken the time to braid a red ribbon into the goddess braid on the child's head, tying it into a neat little bow at the end.

"Ready to go baby?" Abbie asked reaching for the child's hand after her coat was on.

"Yup," was her reply as she took Abbie's hand and began skipping alongside of her.

* * *

"The bouillabaisse sounds delightful," Ichabod suggested to his wife as he looked over the menu, he and Katrina were the first to arrive at the restaurant and he was delighted to find that the modern day restaurant had managed to capture at least some parts of the ambiance that made the French culture what it was, at least back in his earlier days.

"That it does, Darling," she agreed. She was in a good mood. Abbie was currently running late. She had figured that the woman had behaved as she had when the idea was first introduced to her and was hoping that she would just not show. So far so good.

"Do you know what you are having, Sweetheart?" she questioned looking up from the menu. "I'll summon the waiter."

Ichabod placed his hand on top of hers as she was lifting it into the air to try to call for the servicers, preventing her from doing so. "

"Katrina," he said softly, calling her attention back to him and away from the waiters rushing about the busy restaurant, "don't you think we should wait for our guests before we order. It would only be polite."

"But my darling," she said with a smile, "they are late. Do you not think it rude of them to keep us waiting?"

"I am sure there is a good reason, besides, it has not been that long," he told her. "You don't know the trouble it can be getting clothes on that child in order to leave the house. Or getting her to sit in one spot at the dinner table," he went on, only stopping when he saw the look of contempt on his wife's face. After studying her face and realizing that she was not amused with the topic that he had chosen, he looked back down at the phone in his hands, checking for a message from Abbie. It wasn't like her to be late without at least informing him that she would. He was starting to get a little worried.

"Hey," he heard a familiar voice, causing him to look up from his phone. He immediately caught sight of Abbie, well her dress, but her immediately after as she walked over to their table, Macey walking briskly behind her trying to keep up. "Sorry we're late."

"That is quite alright," he said distractedly as he took her in completely, not recognizing the look that his wife was giving him for being so captivated by the other woman. The only thing that got his attention away from her was Macey jumping onto him, giving him a hug.

"Heeey," the girl said enthusiastically, as the man smiled down at her and lifted her into his lap. Abbie placed her purse in the chair next to Ichabod, reserving that chair for Macey and opting to sit next to Katrina, though she really didn't want to. She thought it best to put herself between the woman and the little girl.

"Hey yourself," Ichabod said as he leaned in to get his kiss on the cheek. Something the girl had taken to doing once one of the sharp artifacts had cut into his hand. Macey had noticed his 'boo boo', as he had learned it was called, and had given him a kiss on the cheek. Now he received those hugs and kisses whenever he hadn't seen her for a day or two, and since he had slept at the cabin the night before, he hadn't seen the child all day. "Don't you look darling?"

"Where have you been? I haven't seen you all day." the girl said cutting right to the chase. She didn't like it when her adults disappeared without warning. She was used to Jenny and Hawley disappearing for a day or two and even he got a tongue lashing when he would leave unexpectedly on one of his little misadventures. He had quickly learned to come back with presents when he did. While Ichabod didn't sleep at Abbie's every night, he was at least there usually before she went to school or would at least come with Abbie to pick her up in the evening. But today he hadn't, and she wanted answers.

Abbie laughed silently to herself as she watched Ichabod's face as he realized that he was in trouble.

"Well I had some things that I had to take care of," he told her. "And then I had to prepare to meet you and Abigail here tonight for dinner."

"Are you coming to the zoo with us tomorrow?" she asked him.

"I assure you, I will be there," he confirmed for her.

Katrina only watched the interaction between her husband and the child that was not hers. And while she tried not dwell on it, she could not help but to think how it would have been if they had gotten the chance to be a family with their own son. She could feel the bitterness rising up in side of her, causing a knot in her throat as she tried to swallow it and keep it from rising up and suffocating her.

"I want you to meet someone," she heard Ichabod say, and immediately forced a smile to her face knowing that that someone was her. He turned more to her, the child still in his lap. "Macey, this is Katrina," he told the child, "my wife."

Abbie only looked and observed. She could see the look of joy and excitement on Ichabod's face at finally getting to officially introduce his wife to the girl he had come to care so much about. He watched eagerly for her reaction, probably hoping for somewhat of an instant motherly attachment or at least empathy for the child since Katrina knew from a mother's point of view what it was like for a young child to be separated so violently from its mother at such a young age. Still, Abbie watched as Katrina smiled and put on all the pleasantries with the child, and though Ichabod may have been buying it, she sure wasn't. She had grown skeptical of Katrina in general but the hypervigilance that had sprouted up in the last couple of months when it came to the child let her know that Katrina was not as happy about Macey being there as she put on.

"And guess what?" Macey smiled up at Ichabod, after Katrina finished telling her how nice it was to meet her and asking her how old she was and all of the other questions one would ask a child of that age upon first meeting them. "Tomorrow after the zoo, we're going to get my Halloween costume," she finished not waiting for Ichabod to answer. "I'm going to be a princess."

"Hello Katrina, how have you been?" Abbie said stiffly, trying to force some pleasantries of her own.

Katrina's fake smile only faltered a little before she forced it back onto her face.

"Quite well I must say, and you Abigail? It must be extremely difficult having a child thrust upon you so suddenly," she told her.

Abbie gave her a look, feeling that the woman was taking a jab at her ability to care for the child or any child for that matter. "No, not really," Abbie half lied before taking a sip of her water, trying to keep herself from saying too much. Of course in the beginning it had been hard, and in some ways it was still hard in the fact that a lot of things had been easier and less complicated before, but it had been months since she had taken Macey home with her and she did not regret her decision. But she wouldn't give Katrina the satisfaction by letting her know about the hard part. She and Katrina carried on the somewhat of a conversation that they were having which was obviously more forced than the easily flowing conversation going on between the captain and the little girl. After a few minutes Abbie just decided to bail on her and Katrina's conversation and join theirs.

Thankfully it wasn't long before the waiter noticed that the rest of their party had arrived and came over to take their order. As predicted, once Macey had grown bored of her conversation with Ichabod and the other adults she had opted to taking in her new surroundings, which she had grown board with in less than five minutes and had taken up to making up little games for herself as she walked about the table. Abbie kept having to abandon the conversation every few minutes or so to tell her to have a seat or to pull her out of the way of an oncoming waiter. It wasn't until Macey had travelled a little too far from her to pull her back to her seat that the girl had accidently bumped into a waiter carrying a platter. He had managed to salvage all of the food on the tray as he tried to stay upright, except for the steaming hot shrimp bisque. Thankfully Ichabod had seen the plate toppling off of the tray and had pulled the child onto his lap only seconds before the hot substance would have landed on her.

Abbie gasped as she felt her cheeks turning red as everyone's attention were now turned their way. Most people didn't really know what had happened, they just thought the waiter had tripped.

"I am so sorry," she said her hands still over her mouth.

Macey could tell from Abbie's reaction and from the way all the other people were looking over in their direction that she had caused the accident and that she was probably in trouble. She looked over at Abbie again before looking up at Ichabod who had placed her on his chair in order to get up and help the waiter clean up the mess, to which the man was declining saying that he would get it up and that it was fine. He was just happy the hot substance hadn't splashed on the child.

"Well I guess I am not the only one with a," Katrina paused as if trying to find the right words, "disobedient child."

Abbie and Ichabod's head snapped towards her. Ichabod choosing to discuss it with her later as it angered him that she would bring up this subject now. Macey already had the feeling that the other woman didn't like her much and was starting to feel sad and overwhelmed now that the initial shock of the accident had worn off.

"Sorry," she mumbled quietly to the waiter.

"It's okay, Honey," the waiter told her.

"Are you kidding me right now?" she heard Abbie's voice come from across the table and looked back to see that she was talking to the red haired woman next to her.

"I'm sorry?" Katrina asked as if offended.

"She accidently bumped into the guy," Abbie told her, "she didn't purposefully try to kill him by torturing his soul." She was trying to stay quiet, but she wasn't sure how successful she was being at that seeing as how she could feel herself growing angrier by the second.

"Again, I have to apologize. I was under the impression that we were talking about your child, Ms. Mills, not mine," she retorted.

"Okay , first of all, you don't have a child. You have a fifty something year old that sold his soul to the devil himself to…,"

"Alright, ladies," Ichabod interrupted as he picked the child up off of his chair and sat back down. They were starting to get loud and while the rest of the restaurant had gone back to their usual business, he didn't want to draw attention back to them. "I believe that is enough for the night. Maybe we can just have dinner and discuss this another time."

They both turned back to the table, breaking eye contact and therefore their stare off with one another.

"Yes, because I would love to hear why you and she think it is okay for you to father this little brat while you won't even pay a second thought to our son who is still struggling with our abandonment of him," she told him.

"Or maybe it was the fact that his mother just didn't make good choice, and that he inherited that trait from her," Abbie concluded.

Katrina turned back to her giving her a look before replying. "You know Abigail, from what I remember, people did not have such slick tongues with those they assumed to be witches."

"No, they just burned them at the stakes," Abbie deadpanned.

"Abigail!" Ichabod whispered harshly. He could not believe that Abbie had just said that. But the look she gave him at his admonishment told him that Abigail was no longer playing nicely.

Macey looked around at the adults, trying to gauge all of their expressions, but it was all just too much for her. Everyone seemed angry, and now Ichabod and Abbie seemed angry with each other. And she was pretty sure the mean lady had just said that Ichabod didn't want to be her Daddy anymore because she was bad. And that made her sad. She didn't want Ichabod to be upset, but it seemed that he was, and she was pretty sure some if not all of that was directed towards her.

It wasn't until he heard a sniff that he broke his stare with Abbie to look down at the child. The chubby red cheeks and pouting, trembling lip and the big brown eyes that were starting to overflow with tears, it simply broke his heart.

"Why are you crying?" he asked her, no longer worried about the bickering ladies.

"I'm sorry," the child mumbled before she broke down into tears.

"I can't believe this," Abbie said turning back to Katrina, growing angrier at Macey's tears. "You attack a child, in order to validate that man's behavior, not to mention putting all of our lives in danger."

"I attacked no one. I was only making a simple observation that Ichabod's time would be better spent trying to help his own child rather than playing house with you and this little scapegrace."

"How dare you?" Abbie exclaimed. She wasn't sure what a scapegrace was but she was sure it wasn't a good thing.

"Leftenant please, can we all just have a nice dinner," Ichabod's mouth was still moving, but Abbie was over both him and his wife at this point.

Abbie gave a spiteful laugh before replying, "Of course you can." He went back to trying to console the still crying child and thought it odd, her sudden change in temperament. He didn't realize the full meaning behind it until he felt the child being plucked from his lap.

"Where are you going?" he asked, a little confused at seeing Abbie standing herself and turning to walk away from the table with Macey in her arms.

She didn't turn around or acknowledge him. She just kept walking towards the front of the restaurant.

"Leftenant," he called after her as he rose from his seat prepared to follow her. He was stopped by a hand on his arm.

"Let her go my love," Katrina told him. "It is clear that she has not enjoyed being in our company this evening. Do not try to convince her to stay if she does not wish to."

"I can't just let her go," Ichabod said, a little annoyed with his wife. He knew that she had a lot more to do with the events that had just transpired but had decided to have that discussion with her once they returned to the cabin. But it was clear that he had made Abbie upset somehow in the last few minutes, and he couldn't just let her go. They needed each other, for multiple reasons. And not only did he need to clear things up with her, he needed to make sure Macey was okay.

He rose from his chair and went behind her, leaving Katrina at the table looking after him and upsetting her in the process. But he was too busy trying to find Abbie before she left to notice.

He didn't spot her until the valet had already pulled her car around. She was currently fastening Macey into the backseat of her car. He started towards her and had just reached her when she finished adjusting the seat belt around the child.

"Leftenant," he said causing her to jump a little as she turned around. She had originally thought that he wouldn't follow her but had heard him calling after her as she made for the exit. When he hadn't caught up with her at the coat check she had again assumed that he had decided not to follow.

She tried to side step him, but he only stepped with her, blocking her path before taking a step towards her, cornering her between the open car door and himself. He hadn't been trying to corner her off, but he just wanted them to have a discussion without the valet attendants and everyone else overhearing them.

When she saw that he had blocked her escape route, she decided to go through him if he would not let her go around him. "Get out of my way, Crane," she told him as she walked towards him, her hands coming out some as if to push him aside. He did not budge.

"Why are you leaving?" he asked her.

"Why am I leaving?" she repeated the question as if she was offended by it. "I'm leaving because I can't be near you or your wife right now."

"What has Katrina to do with this?"

"Oh she has everything to do with this," she told him, mocking his accent, which took him a little by surprise. She had never done that before, well not in such a mean spirited way. "And then you just sit there and let her get away with it." She stopped for a second and threw her hands in the air. "But why am I even surprised?"

She again tried to side step him, and again, he stopped her. "I am completely aware of my wife's untactful behavior and I have decided to deal with that in a private manner, between her and myself. But you are not without fault here either, Left.." he tried to defend, she cut him off.

"I was defending Macey, and myself," she told him. "One of us had to."

"I do not know what you are trying to imply, Leftenant,"again she interrupted him as she folded her arms across her chest in a defensive manner.

"I am not implying," she told him. He gave her a look, but decided not to take her bate into spiraling into a useless argument, which it seemed that he was sliding down that slope either way.

"But the way I handle my affairs with my wife are my decision alone. You cannot expect me to handle these situations as you would."

"Of course not," she told him, a smile on her face. A smile that he knew even two hundred years ago meant that he was about two seconds away from having his ass handed to him in several forms. "Why is it that every time it's my interests pitted against Katrina's, you expect me to always put mine aside in order to satisfy hers. And now this matter between husband and wife, that also pulls me and my child into the middle of it, I'm expected to stay out of it. Why wasn't I told to stay out of it when I volunteered to stay in purgatory so that you could free her, or when Henry, your son," she air quoted, "got mixed in with the wrong crowd, to say the least?" She paused, waiting for him to reply. He didn't dare. "Well don't worry Crane, the next time your psychotic wife or your spawn of Satan does something displeasing to you, I'll be sure to stay out of it. You just be sure to leave me the hell out of it." With that she gave him a hard shove, causing him to stumble back a step as he was still in shock from her words. The small space he created allowed enough room for her to escape.

She closed Macey's door and had begun walking around to the driver's side. "What would you have me to do then?" He blurted out, half yelled really. He was being accused of something and he did not like what he was being accused of. He was being accused of hurting his partner, and she seemed to be implying that he was doing it intentionally. He did not like that one bit and he could feel himself becoming angrier because of it.

"Protect her," Abbie said pointing into the back seat of her car. "Stand up for her." His eyes immediately went to where her finger pointed. He felt his anger subsiding at the sight of the scared child in the backseat of the care, clutching onto the bear that he had bought her. She had stopped crying but it was as if it were only because she seemed too frightened to do so, as she watched the two adults in front of her argue.

Abbie didn't know what, but something inside of her had snapped upon witnessing Katrina verbally attack Macey that way, and then having the child fall to tears about it, well that honestly just broke her heart and caused a fire to blaze up inside of her. Normally she would have just told Katrina where she could shove and been content with that but that didn't seem to be enough to calm her emotions this time around. And the fact that Ichabod had let it go without even trying to defend Macey, well that just hurt her for some reason. It also stung that he had again chosen Katrina's side over hers, but she had sadly, gotten used to that and had learned to deal with it.

"God, Crane," she said placing her hand on her forehead, trying to calm herself as she too noticed that the child seemed overwhelmed by all of the emotions the adults were showing. "She's just a kid. We're supposed to protect her from this kind of stuff," she turned away from him, trying to control her emotions as she felt tears welling up in her eyes. She knew firsthand how adult bullshit could spill over into ruining childhoods resulting in dysfunctional adults. And she had promised herself a long time ago that if she ever had kids that she would do everything in her power to prevent that, including finding a non douchebag father for said kids. And though she hadn't really had any time to prepare before Macey was introduced into her life and didn't really have any say so in the circumstances, that promise was reserved for her as well. She had come to love the child as her own flesh and blood, she couldn't imagine loving someone more without literally imploding. And she had initially been okay with Ichabod signing the papers because he was a good guy, he would probably make a good co-guardian she thought since he actually seemed like he wanted to be a father, but maybe she had been wrong about her partner. At least in this particular situation anyways.

"You shouldn't have signed those papers," she said aloud, though it was mostly to herself.

But he had heard her, at least he thought he had. His brows furrowed as he felt himself growing angry again, though he couldn't quite muster up the strength he had before since his heart seemed to be slowing to an uncomfortable rate, or speeding up. He couldn't really tell, he couldn't feel his heart anymore. He just knew that there was a dull ache in his chest, where his heart was supposed to be.

"What?" he asked.

She put her hands on her hips again, taking a deep breath before turning back to him. "I said, you shouldn't have signed those papers. If she's not that imp…," she paused trying to find the right words. "If you can't put her first, if you can't care for her like you care for them, then you shouldn't have signed those papers. Because she's going to remember this. She's going to remember every single thing like this, because everyone remembers every time they got hurt by someone they cared about," she knew Macey well enough now to know the difference between the 'I want to have my way' tantrum cry, the 'I'm in trouble and I'm scared so I'm going to cry' cry, and all of the other reasons the girl would cry, including the 'my feelings are genuinely hurt slash I'm in emotional distress so these tears are a distress signal' cry that she had just experienced. "She's hurt," she told him. "And I don't know if I can fucking fix it." She mumbled to herself as she walked away, the tears she had been holding back finally spilling over. She was well aware that she wouldn't be able to protect Macey from everything, and that it would prove more of a challenge once the child got older and started experiencing more of life. She also understood that it was her job to teach her how to deal with those disappointments and hurtful experiences in a healthy, productive manner and that some of those experiences would serve to make her a more well rounded, deep, and empathetic person. But she was pretty sure that those life experiences, although more common, didn't naturally include witnessing an adult you loved and who was supposed to love you unconditionally stand by and let you get bombarded by a bully that you could not possibly protect yourself from. And she honestly didn't know how to fix that. She didn't know if anyone did, because she didn't know if it could be fixed. It could be accepted and overcome, because as she had experienced, even becoming an adult and actually being able to understand a rational reasoning for an adult's actions did not erase the pain that they caused you.

He watched her as she climbed into the driver's seat and closed the door. He then noticed that Macey was still staring at him from the back seat, her tear stained face close to the window as she peered up at him. As soon as his eyes met hers, she looked down, something she usually did when she was in trouble and she thought he was upset with her, only this time she seemed sadder and she didn't look back up at him through her eyelashes to try to gauge his reaction to her pouty face. He continued to watch as Abbie pulled away from the curb, at a loss for words and still trying to process what had just happened and what it meant for his relationship going forward with both Macey and his partner.

* * *

A/N: So this chapter got a little more serious, which is where I want to take the story, because as we all know Abbie probably still feels some type of way about him siding with Katrina, because I still some type of way about him siding with Katrina. And while I didn't wan't Katia to necessarily lose her job, though I doubt she has, I will say that her character was much more helpful and tolerable when she was stuck in a mirror. I don't think many people had a problem with helpful Katrina in the mirror from season 1. But she sucks in her more concrete form. I can't even lie, that episode where she let headless go and was all don't kill my son was the nail in the coffin with her for me. The other episodes made me made, but I was at least tolerating her. I wanted Abbie so badly to be like well screw it, we can't go with my plan, I'm not witnessing anymore. Now we all die. And just walk out to go enjoy the final days of life on earth.

But sigh, that being said. **Go vote**, there's still a couple of hours, though unless we pull it together I doubt we'll win. And as always **Leave a Review!**


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Okay I wasn't going to post this because one, it is even shorter than I like and two I actually didn't want this to be a cliff hanger, but whatever because I just found out the show has been renewed (I know I'm probably late but I actually do have a life even though I'm updating on a Saturday night, (it's raining out)) and a noise came out of me that was even foreign to me lmao. So this is in celebration of the renewal and the season to come. It's short, but again, it's a celebration.

* * *

Abbie took a deep breath, as she took another quick glance through the rear view mirror into the back seat. Macey was staring quietly out the window at the town passing by them. The car was quiet, save for the muffled sounds coming from outside of it. The child still held tightly to her hand with both of her own little hands, as she had offered it to her for comfort after she had reached back to wipe away some of the child's tears. She had quickly gained control of her own, knowing that it would do nothing but serve to make Macey cry more. They had left the restaurant maybe thirty minutes ago, and she was taking her time getting them home. She figured she would probably pick up something to eat before she did seeing as how they hadn't had a chance to eat before things blew up.

Her phone chimed again, and she looked down to once again see a picture of Ichabod when he had inadvertently set the flash off in his face. A picture she had kept and that now showed up everytime he called or texted, and one which had showed up seven times on her phone since she had left the restaurant. She wasn't answering. She was not in the state of mind to deal with him right now. She was still trying to hold it together for Macey. Thankfully the child had stopped crying.

"You okay Baby?" she tried to shoot a reassuring smile the girl's way, though she was sure she didn't hide all of the sadness she felt with it. But Macey just continued to look out of the window.

"Yeah," the child replied dolefully, "I'm okay."

She sighed as she rubbed her thumb over the back of the child's hand as she stopped at a red light. "You know I love you, right?" she looked back at the child who was still looking out of the window. She didn't think the child had heard her, as she was seemingly in her own little world. That was until she replied.

"I love you too, Mommy," she said absentmindedly still looking out of the window.

Abbie's mouth fell open and she sat up a little straighter in her seat. Macey had never called her Mommy before, or any variation of the word. She wanted to say something but couldn't find the words. She felt a warmness spreading throughout her chest, and felt herself on the verge of tears again, this time for a completely different reason. She would never have thought that hearing herself be referred to by that word would bring her so much joy and pride and all the other emotions she was feeling.

"Mace," she started, still unsure if she had even heard the girl correctly. "You called me, Mommy."

At hearing this, the child finally turned to face the woman. When she saw the raw emotions on Abbie's face she became confused.  
She hadn't even realized that she had said the word, Mommy. But she also didn't think that it was a problem, because after all, Abbie was her Mom, unless."You don't want to be my mommy anymore?" It only made since. Ichabod didn't want to be her dad anymore, so why would Abbie still want to be her mom. She was on the verge of tears again, and this threw Abbie into action.

"Oh no sweetie," she corrected her. "Of course I want to be your mommy, I'll always want to be your mommy." She wanted to pull the child into a hug, the kind of which Macey would usually struggle to get away from, and claim that she was squishing her while she giggled uncontrollably. But she couldn't because she was driving. She couldn't stop staring at the child, who had gone back to looking out of the window once confirming that her mommy still wanted her.

"Good," the child replied. "Because I don't want you to ever stop being my Mommy."

This caused Abbie to smile, and that warm feeling penetrated even deeper. And suddenly she got an idea.

"What do you say we got get some pie?"

* * *

"And we would always come here, and we would get pie and ice cream, just like the one we have now," she told the child, whose eyes grew bright.

"So we get to eat ice cream for dinner?" she asked, causing Abbie to laugh.

"Only on very special occasions."

They were sitting at booth in the dinner that she and Corbin used to visit. She had decided that she didn't want to go home just yet and that she wanted to try to lift the child's spirits before settling in for the night.

"Where is he?" Macey asked. "He sounds nice. Can we go play with him?"

"Well," Abbie paused deciding if she should tell her, "he died."

"How'd he die?" she asked looking up at Abbie with curious brown eyes.

"He was trying to stop the bad guys," she told the child simply deciding to leave out the part about demons and headless men on horses riding around decapitating people. "He was just doing his job."

"He was a policeman?" Macey asked, slowing on her devouring of the sweets in front of her. She knew policemen were supposed to stop the bad guys.

"Yup," Abbie told her proudly. But suddenly saw the child doing the math in her head. She couldn't help but to look away. She knew where this was heading and she wanted to avoid it.

"But you're a policeman," she stated. Abbie only nodded, still unable to look the child in the eyes.

Macey looked down at the plate in front of her, toying with the scoop of ice cream. "But I don't want you to be a policeman."

Abbie chanced a look at the child and thankfully she was still staring at the food in front of her.

"Baby, someone has to stop the bad guys," she reasoned.

"But what if you get hurt?" she asked. "I don't want you to get hurt."

Abbie smiled at her before passing a hand through her hair, taming the unruly curls they had recently been released from the braid. "I'll be very careful."

The child took a minute to think. "But what if you still get hurt?"

"Well, we will have to deal with that when it happens," Abbie told her. "If it happens. Besides I do most of my work with Ichabod, Aunt Jenny, and Hawley now. And I'm not just stopping the bad guys, I'm protecting you from the bad guys."

Macey had a feeling her leg was being pulled with that last comment, though Abbie did protect her, even from that mean lady tonight.

"Hey, what are you guys doing here?" she heard a voice coming from behind her. She turned to see Luke Morales.

* * *

A/N: Okay I know that was short. And I'm glad that you guys have been enjoying so far. Leave at least some reviews for this chapter because, one we have every right to be happy enough to leave a review, we get more Abbie, Ichabod, Jenny, Frank (soulless Frank or soulful Frank) and whoever else. I know you guys don't like Hawley and I didn't like the fact that they tried to place him as the possible love interest causing conflict between the two sisters too but I think that he did bring a different type of character to the show, but like most of season too, the way he was written put people off from him. I see him as this wanna be rational and logical guy just doing what he has to do in his mind but his conscious gets in the way causing him to make decisions to protect the people he cares about and also causing him to kick himself for it and him gradually growing to see that it is worth it. And finally, whatever, that boy is nice to look at. Google Matt Barr shirtless and tell me I'm lying. Honestly I would be all for Abbie getting with him if it wasn't for his previous relationship with Jenny because somebody has to get with him looking like he looks, but however, because of that, I am all for Jenny continuing to get with that, Mmhm lol. Oh, and also leave a comment because clearly Luke is entering at a very vulnerable time for Abbie as far as her relationship with Ichabod goes and her overall mental state as she's having something things thrown at her simultaneously, her obvious love for Macey and the desire to keep her happy and safe, her falling out with her partner/beginning to realize confusion in her feelings for him, and also the hatred of Katrina. Because while I grew to hate Katrina, I think Abbie should passionately hate her, because she tried to do too much. **Anyways, short but review to celebrate!**


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: So this is the other part to the last chapter. Sorry if it's a little slow but I am trying to be meticulous about this fighting between Abbie and Ichabod to make it more believable. But let me know if it's going to slow.

* * *

"Well," she said as they entered the cabin, "that was an eventful dinner." They had just arrived home, neither of them saying more than two words to each other on their ride home from the restaurant. He was upset with her, she could tell, but she was also upset with him for leaving her to go after Abbie and then cutting their dinner short.

"I should say so," he applied as he watched her as she went about the living room, removing her coat and scarf. He couldn't believe the way that she had behaved tonight, she had been downright rude to both Abbie and Macey, only to prove a point that really had no grounding in the logical real world. She had never been so mean-spirited before. She had always been gentle and kind, understanding and willing to lend a helping hand to anyone in need. He looked down at the floor as she disappeared into their bedroom, wondering if he should try Abbie's number again. She was angry with him, he knew it, which was one of the reasons that he wanted to talk this out, tonight preferably.

"Do you want tea, My Love?" Katrina asked cheerily as she entered back into the living room, headed for the kitchen. She seemed too happy considering the nights events, as if she was somewhat satisfied with the way things had occurred. Either that are she was just trying to ignore what had happened. Either way, he knew he needed to have a talk with her.

"No thank you," he said, the scowl remaining on his face as she disappeared into the kitchen. He waited a second, trying to calm his anger before following her.

When he entered the kitchen she was just setting the kettle onto the stove. She gave him a small smile as she started to chop up the mint leaves. She had him seriously doubting his sanity now. Either the events of earlier had not happened and he had hallucinated it all, or the woman he was married to had become a complete stranger.

"Katrina," he started, then paused, prompting a, "Yes, Dear?" from her. He took a breath before continuing.

"What happened tonight," he told her, "you know that it mustn't happen again." She again smiled at him.

"I most certainly agree," she told him. She had figured that the relationship with him and Abbie had been axed after the night they had had. She had seen him calling her relentlessly on the cab ride back home. She did agree, with his statement, but she feared that it meant two different things for the both of them.

"Macey, she is both my responsibility as well as Abigail's. And though Abigail and I are partners for the sake of preventing the apocalypse, raising her requires us to have a," he paused searching for the words, "different type of relationship." He noticed her tense, pausing in her chopping, but she did not respond to him, only shifting her neck as if trying to get a knot out of it. She placed the leaves in a mortar and began crushing them with the pestle. He continued.

"I hoped that you would have opted to be a part of it, but after tonight I can tell that you are not interested. Your only interest seems to be with exonerating both Abraham and Henry for the evil," he tried to continue.

"Jeremy!," she yelled, abandoning the tea as tears started to spill form her eyes. "His name is Jeremey. I named him Jeremey." She looked at him. "And you should be just as concerned about saving him as I am. He is your son."

"And Macey is my daughter!" he yelled at her, suddenly feeling the weight of the guilt Abbie had revealed to him earlier that night.

She scoffed, "She is not you're daughter," she told him coldly.

"She is as much my daughter as Henry is my son," he told her, refusing to use his son's given name to refer to the monster that lurked about Sleepy Hollow. "More even," he told her. "That man is not my son, he may have been once, but not anymore. He is not our son Katrina. He killed our son. He sold our son's soul so that he could come into existence. That child you gave up no longer exists, not even in Henry," he finished holding back tears for the infant boy whose face he had only seen in his dreams. "You were wrong for attacking that child," he told her.

"I did not attack her," she defended.

"You did," he refused to let her get out of this one. "You attacked her, you attacked Abigail, you attacked me for my relationship with them, but I will not abandon them. I have once abandoned a child that I loved, unknowingly, and I refuse to do it again," he watched as she stood staring out of the window, seemingly ignoring him but he knew she was listening.

"I can understand you wanting to care for the child," she told him. "She has been orphaned and you've always been a very kind and giving man. But I do not understand why it had to be with a woman who insists on destroying our family."

"She does not wish to destroy our family," he tried to reason with her, but she was beyond reason at this point.

"Yes, she does. And I do not understand why you insist on defending and siding with her. I understand your bond as witnesses but you have gotten too close to her, even to the point of betraying your own family. You try so hard to defend her and protect her. When she was in purgatory you could not stand to see her there for one more second without..."

"I need her!" He yelled at his wife inadvertently. He did not understand where all of this was coming from. She knew of his bond with Abbie even before he did. And she had known how close they had become even before she had left purgatory. And she must have forgotten that it was Abbie who sacrificed herself so that he could take her out of purgatory. Of course he would want to go back for her as soon as possible, what did she think that he would just leave her there while they went along about their happy lives. Abbie was his to protect and defend just as much as she was. She would probably take a shot at him if she knew he felt that way, just to remind him that she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. But that's the way he felt, in his heart. "I will not abandon either one of them," he told her. "So it seems you have a choice to make."

With his last statement she slowly turned her head towards him, trying to gauge if he was serious or not. She could not believe that he had just given her an ultimatum of either approving of his relationship with the woman and the child or losing him, because even though he hadn't said that explicitly, she knew what he meant.

"I will not abandon our child, Ichabod," she told him. "Not again."

He studied her for a moment, trying to give her a moment to retract her statement, because he was standing firm by his. She did not.

"Very well then," he stated before turning to go to the bedroom to gather some of his clothes. It seemed that he would be spending the night away from his wife, and hopefully she would come to her senses soon and he would again find himself fighting on the same team as her. He knew what the right thing to do was, and he was going to do it. He just hoped that she would follow.

* * *

He stood on her door step, shifting uncomfortably from one foot to the next. He had tried calling before he had come over but she still wasn't answering her phone. He had called her multiple times the night before but she had ignored his calls and texts, and at one point she had turned her phone off because instead of ringing, her phone started going straight to voice mail, a trick she had taught him to know when people were avoiding his calls or their phone battery had died. He had wanted to come over and clear things up. He had come over after he had left the cabin only to find that she had not made it back to her house yet. He had refused to use the key she had given him in case of emergencies, knowing that she would probably not approve since she was upset with him. So he had gone to a hotel, but he had gotten up early this morning trying to get in contact with her again, but deciding just to head over instead after seeing she was still avoiding his attempts to talk to her.

He knocked again. He could hear multiple people inside and could make out Jenny's voice as well as Macey's giggling, which warmed his heart. He was glad that his bone headedness the night before had not served to ruin the child's happiness for a prolonged amount of time.

He heard footsteps making their way towards the door and turned, with a smile on his face, expecting Abbie, but being shocked by the person who opened the door.

His face fell, as the other man's face perked into a smile upon seeing his face. He would not spare pleasantries with him. He did not like what he was seeing. "What are you doing here?" he asked bluntly.

Luke just smirked at him, and Ichabod had to resist the urge to punch him in the face. Because he really wanted to punch him in the face. He did not like Luke being here at Abbie's or near Abbie for that matter.

"Abbie invited me," he said with a smile.

The two men just stared at each other, Ichabod still trying to suppress the urge to put his hands on the man.

"Who is it?" he heard her ask quietly from somewhere inside the home, and she was soon pulling the door open wider, revealing herself.

A brief flit of anger passed over her features before she became stoic. She stepped in front of Luke and folded her arms in a defensive manner. "What are you doing here?"

Luke showed some teeth as the woman greeted Ichabod with the same unwelcoming phrase as Ichabod had greeted him with. Ichabod's eyes drifted towards the man, and she could see the anger growing there. And since she actually wanted to get her partner off of her porch as soon as possible and this was none of Luke's business, she asked him to excuse himself. He did, but not before telling her to, "Let me know if you need me."

She had nodded, mostly to get him to just leave but it had served to anger Ichabod even more. Why would she need him while she was just talking to him? Was he expecting an army of demons to show up on the streets soon? He brushed it off as he again heard Macey's laugh from somewhere inside of the house, this time followed by Hawley's voice letting her know that he was going to get her.

He wanted to ask for permission to enter because for whatever reason he felt that he needed that now, but he decided to tackle her question first. "I came over to go to the zoo with you and Macey, as I promised," he told her. He looked down at her as she looked up at him, unimpressed by the towering height he had over her, her big brown eyes that usually showed admiration and fondness for him now devoid of emotions, her plump lips turning downward slightly at the corners.

She was about to tell him that it wouldn't be necessary for him to go with them to the zoo, but she felt something or rather someone collide with her leg before she had been able to get the words out. Unfortunately, it was the smallest occupant of the house.

"Mommy, Uncle Hawley's trying to tickle me," the child said looking back into the house, not yet noticing the man standing on their porch. It wasn't until Hawley approached them causing Macey to giggle again, but stopping short at seeing the look on the blonde man's face. This caused her to take her face out of the side of her mother's leg and look up at the tall, gangly man standing in front of them. The smile slowly fell from her face.

Hawley looked back and forth between the two adults, before deciding to silently excuse himself. He was aware of what had happened the night before, and had heard how angry both Abbie and Jenny were at the man seeing as how Jenny was at his place when Abbie called her to vent. He was going to reach for the child to remove her from the situation, but saw that she had secured herself to Abbie's leg. He decided to let her be.

Ichabod looked down, smiling at the child staring up at him as she clung to his partner. She did not smile back. She didn't run to him, or throw herself at him expecting him to catch her. There was no 'Hi Ichabod" sweetly spoken as she reached for him. None of that. Just an unsure look as she partially hid behind Abbie's leg, peeping out at him.

The child looked up at Abbie, as if trying to draw from her an appropriate response to his presence. He too looked at the woman who had turned her eyes away from him and was now looking down at the porch. She shook her head slightly at the thoughts going through her head. She had not wanted Macey to know that Ichabod was there.

The child looked up at her mother who currently seemed upset. She assumed it was because of Ichabod as she had been in a seemingly better mood before answering the door. She didn't know why Ichabod was there, she was happy he was there but she had thought that he wouldn't want to see her or her mother again after the night before. Maybe she had been wrong, but she still wasn't sure, so she would stick close to her mother just in case. She knew she was safe there. She wrapped her small arms around Abbie's leg as she peered back up at Ichabod.

Ichabod could sense the tension building, and did not want a repeat of the night before, so he decided to address the child first.

"Hello Macey," he spoke to her, more formally than he would have before. He knew he was skating on thin ice with the both of them, "how are you this morning?"

The child only stared at him before looking up at Abbie again, expecting her to give her the go ahead to answer. But Abbie did not respond, nor did she look at her. So Macey didn't respond either as she stared back towards Ichabod.

"I've come to go to the zoo with you as I promised," he tried again. Again the child did not answer. It was as if she was afraid of him. He felt that sore throbbing in his heart again.

He watched as the girl looked back up at Abbie, his partner who seemed to still be in her own world, though he could tell she was angry, seemingly from fact that he had allowed Macey to find him there.

"Mommy?" the girl questioned quietly still looking up at his partner. This was the first time that he realized the child had not been referring to his partner by Abbie. He looked up suddenly at her prepared to point this finding out to her, but found her still stoic face and decided against it.

Abbie knew that she had to respond, and unfortunately for her, she had to respond positively, for Macey's sake. She was still so angry at Ichabod, but she couldn't let that show, because she did not want her anger for Ichabod to rub off on Macey. She didn't want to negatively influence the child's relationship with the man because she knew Macey loved him, and she wanted her to have a relationship with him. She just didn't want her to get hurt by that relationship. She needed more time to figure things out, but him being there was forcing her hand. Maybe she just should have answered his calls, that way she could have just told him not to come. But she hadn't.

She looked down at the child that had called to her and forced a smile to her face. "Ready to go to the zoo, Baby?"

She questioned, the child did not answer figuring the woman's response a little weird given the current situation, but of course, she wanted to go to the zoo. It took her a moment, but she nodded.

"Go get your coat," Abbie told her, causing the child to unwrap her arms from around her leg and go back into the house.

"Abigail," he tried again, but she stopped him.

"Wait here. We'll be right out," she closed the door in his face, leaving him there. A few minutes later the door opened again and all of the occupants filed out. Jenny shooting him a glare and Hawley placing his hand on the small of her back to keep her walking as he shot him a, "Hey man, what's up?" Hawley gave him a pat on the shoulder as if he pitied him. The next was Luke, still wearing the same smug grin, the last being the woman and child he had come to make amends with, Abbie turning to lock the door, Macey holding tightly onto her free hand.

* * *

A/N: Hope you enjoyed. Still let me know if there is anything specific you want to see. So I'm going to come back and correct the mistakes. My battery is dying and I want to get this posted. I am aware of mistakes in other chapters also, I just need to find time to go back and correct them.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Let me just say that no matter how many person in the psych unit with a bunch of other people only to find in the end that those people are the other personalities. I just love these movies, Identity started it for me and though I feel a little upset that the rest of the movies are just mimicking it, I can't help but to be entertained by them.

Anyways, hope you enjoy. I feel like I typed this one in pieces so if it seems off, that's probably why. Hope it isn't too bad though.

* * *

The zoo had been…eventful so far. And by eventful he meant that he had had to sit by and brood while he watched Luke put his hands all over Abbie. He hadn't even realized that the man had weaseled his way into attending with them until he climbed into the front passenger seat of Abbie's car, his spot, or hers depending on if she let him drive. Hawley had seemed to notice and had tried to get him to calm down as he was being a little obvious. Jenny had also noticed, and while he had not been able to get Abbie alone to try to talk with her, he was able to at least explain himself to her sister. He had also told her about the argument that he and his wife had had about it last night and that he had chosen his partner and the child they shared custody of, and while he had not shunned his wife, he had given her an ultimatum. To which Jenny replied by punching him in the arm and telling him he should have done that before he made both Macey and Abbie cry. Which he gave her a sad face, melting away more of her anger towards him. At least Macey was enjoying herself. He looked on as Abbie bent to button the girl's coat up. This made him realize the increasing chill in the air, probably due in part to the fact that the sun had decided to hide behind the dense gray clouds that had rolled in out of nowhere.

"There, we don't want you catching a cold," Abbie said buttoning the last button on Macey's coat. She was about to stand from her stooping position but Macey threw her arms around her neck before she could. She picked the child up and started to point out some of the fish to her.

"I'm surprised they survive during the winter," Luke said referring to the fish.

"Probably heated," Abbie told him. "Probably section them off to an inside aquarium if it gets too cold."

"So you got any plans for tonight?" he asked, causing Abbie to look his way.

She looked back out over the pond before replying. "Actually, no. Thinking about staying in, watch a few movies."

"Maybe I'll join you," he replied with a smile.

She returned his smile, a little uneasy. She didn't mind him watching movies with her. Jenn and Hawley would probably be there most of the night. She just didn't want him to get the wrong idea from it.

"Mommy, I wanna see the giraffes," Macey said lying her head on Abbie's shoulder, but looking at Luke suspiciously.

Abbie rubbed the child's back, noticing that she had been a little more clingy than usual. She figured it was due to the night prior. That was until Macey nuzzled into her neck and whispered "I just want you to come to see the giraffes with me." This caused Abbie to laugh, as she finally understood the reason for the child latching herself onto her for the entire time they had been there.

He watched from the bench as Abbie closed her eyes and crinkled her nose, a smile coming to her face. He loved to see her smile. He watched as she turned to Luke and said something to him before walking off with Macey still in her arms. He wanted to get up and follow them but he didn't know if any good would come from it. He had honestly felt like an outsider the entire day and was starting to think it may have been better if he just hadn't tagged along for the trip.

"And they're off again," he heard his blond friend say as he sat down beside him. "I tell you I wish I had the energy that kid has."

Their group had lost Hawley and Jenny back at the gift shop, promising that they'd catch up later after a brief break that included a cup of hot chocolate. "You talk to her yet."

Ichabod looked back at the bridge over the pond, giving Luke a death glare. "How could I? Her lap dog hasn't left her side all day."

Hawley laughed. "Yeah," he paused. "You gonna tell her how you feel about her?"

Ichabod's head whipped towards the man. He stared him down, trying to decipher to what extent the man knew what he was talking about, and which route he should take with his response.

"I have no idea of what you are speaking," he told him. "I only wish to speak with her about the events of last night."

Hawley nodded and seemed as if he had dropped the subject for the time being, but not before adding. "Yeah, well if you use that strategy, might as well get used to that lap dog being around."

"Mr. Hawley," Ichabod said going into his stern professor voice, causing Hawley to give an 'Oh boy, here we go' look at being addressed so formally, "I have you know that I am a married man and what you are implying my feelings are for my partner are offensive. I, unlike you and the rest of the, 'players'," Hawley rolled his eyes, "I take my vows seriously."

"Sorry to offend you," Hawley said, not really sorry as he knew that Ichabod was just being defensive since he was poking at a very live wire. "And I'm assuming you're vows don't mean jack since one, there in no current record on file of you two being married, and secondly, I'm pretty sure death has done you guys part at least twice," he told him. Ichabod just stared at him. "At least." Hawley added for emphasis.

* * *

"You know he's sorry,"Jenny told her sister as they walked down the safari path of the zoo.

"Because I made his ass sorry," Abbie replied nonchalantly, keeping an eye on the child running slightly ahead of them, excited at seeing the giraffes on one side of her and the elephants on the other side.

"Oh, Abbie," Jenny said, before adding sarcastically. "You were always such a badass. Keep it up, you are going to run him right back into the arms of his witch, I mean wife."

Abbie smiled at Jenny's feigned mistake. "What are you talking about Jenny?"

"I'm talking about Ichabod telling Katrina where to get off and you guys being in loooove," Jenny drew the last word out as if she were a six year old again, teasing her sister about a crush.

"What?" Abbie said more concerned with the Katrina part, and not willing to engage her sister in the second part.

"You guys are in love," Jenny said with a smile.

"Okay, no," Abbie told her. "And not that part. The part about him and Katrina."

"He and Katrina got into an argument last night about the restaurant, he didn't tell you?" She put her finger in the air. "Ahh, that's right. You've been ignoring him all day. Poor guy."

"Poor guy?" Abbie asked, not believing that her sister had switched sides so quickly and so easily. What had Ichabod done to her?

"Com'on Abbs," she told her. "He's already clueless, and now he's just walking around like a dog that's lost his only bone. You know I'm a sucker for cute dumb puppies, why do you think I keep Hawley around?" They both laughed. Then suddenly, it started to pour down raining. The rain wasn't forecast, and the zoo had been packed with people, all of them who had either decided to make a run for their cars or find shelter in one of the gift shops.

Abbie went to grab the child as Jenny put her hood up on her coat, waiting for her sister. She watched as Abbie had to chase the girl around as Macey thought it was fun to run around in the rain, preferably in a circle while screaming and giggling in a direction that was away from Abbie. Finally Abbie had gotten a hold on her hand and started pulling her towards the parking lot as they had been in an open area of the zoo and they had been closer to the exit than any other shelter.

"Mace com'on," Abbie had yelled back at her after seeing the child was mock running with them, deciding it wasn't so bad to play in the rain, though it was freezing out by now.

"I'm coming," she yelled back with a giggle. Suddenly the child felt herself being scooped up in familiar arms, she squealed at the sudden change of height, but wrapped her arms around him anyway as they made it through the gates and to Abbie's car.

Abbie was surprised to see the three men, but was happy that they had found them as she wasn't particularly keen on waiting for them in the car while they waited on the rain to slack up. She didn't say a word when Ichabod snatched the child up. Better him to have to carry her in this freezing rain than her.

"I'm wet," Macey said to Ichabod as he placed her in her seat about to strap her in. "And cold."

"Take the jacket off," Abbie told him from the front seat as she started her car and turned up the heater all the way before reaching into the backseat to help him strip the child of her outer layer. The only thing was that her hair and pants were still soaked, even her shoes as she had taken the opportunity to jump in a particularly large puddle.

Luke sat quietly in the front seat, watching through the rear view mirror as Ichabod and his ex-soon to be fiancé stripped the child of her coat, shoes, and socks. It wasn't until Macey let out a sneeze and a shiver that Abbie had voiced her concerns about the child becoming sick, to which Ichabod had responded by wordlessly taking off his coat and placing it over the child tucking her into her car seat. His coat wasn't as wet as hers since he hadn't run around in a circle screaming in the rain, plus it was only wet on the outside, not soaked through like hers.

Abbie gave him a look before mumbling, "Thanks," and sitting back in the driver's seat, prepared to drive them all home.

The drive started off quiet, the adults in their own private thoughts, Macey letting out a yawn at the feel of Ichabod's coat wrapped around her. It smelled of him, and since she had become accustomed to falling asleep in his arms or snuggled up next to him, that along with the warmth it provided was starting to lull her into a light doze. Then Luke spoke, breaking the silence and revealing his inner thoughts.

"So are we dropping you off at your place, Crane?" Ichabod's mouth fell open to answer, but he halted himself as he saw Abbie's head whip towards the man, but she didn't say anything though she seemed a little upset.

She was actually upset with Luke, she didn't feel that it was his place to insert himself into the situation between her and Ichabod, but she too was quiet, as she was not entirely opposed to Ichabod going home. She was still very upset with him and tried to avoid his attempts to talk with her the entire time they had spent at the zoo.

"Actually I planned to spend the evening at Abigail's," he told him as politely as he could. "I have not seen much of Macey these past few days", he smiled at the child who's eyes had popped open at the sound of talking. "I would like to spend some time with her."

The child only looked into the front seat, searching for Abbie's guidance once more. Of course she wanted Ichabod to come play with her, but she still was so confused by what was going on with both him and Abbie.

Abbie looked into her review mirror and immediately caught Macey's eye starring back at her. She sighed inwardly and proceeded to drive to her house.

* * *

"It seems now I have to carry you," Ichabod turned to Macey as they pulled into Abbie's driveway, "since you've managed to get your shoes soiled." The child smiled shyly not wanting to let onto the fact that she enjoyed being carried and also setting the cute stage to get herself out of trouble if need be. He smiled, seeing her trying to hold back a smile and picked her up, still making sure that she was wrapped up tightly and carried her into the house. The rain still had not let up all the way. He was about to set her down in the living room before Abbie said no and pointed to the bathroom down the hall, he followed her. Luke was again left alone in the living room as they attended to Macey.

"You are getting a warm bath, child," Abbie told her as she went into the bathroom to run the bath water.

"Off with the wet clothing," Ichabod told the girl as he helped her to get rid of the rest of her layers, her big curly afro getting stuck in her shirt and him trying carefully not to catch her ear as he had done so many times before. Abbie walked back into the room and picked the child up under her arms allowing him to finally pull the soaked jeans from her. She was soon wisped away into the bathroom. He followed closely behind them.

"It's warm," Macey said with smile as she waved her arms around under the water.

"Yeah, much better than playing in the cold rain huh?" Abbie asked her sarcastically. Her phone rang and she picked it up.

It was Jenny. She leaned against the bathroom counter. It sounded like she was making a grocery list for the night with Jenny as she and Hawley had stopped at the store on the way back to her place.

He watched the girl splash around in the bathtub softly, playing around with her bath toys as she sang a loosely correct version of Uptown Funk. He smiled to himself, feeling his heart swell. She was such a happy child. And Abbie was doing a great job with her. She was a great mother and it was becoming a little harder to ignoring the feelings he would get in chest and…other places he wouldn't dare to mention as he watched his partner fulfill the role of mother to the child he had come to regard as his daughter. Yes, she would make a great mother to the other children that were sure to come into her life, because Abbie was just too much of a good mom to not have more children, no matter how much she refuted the idea, he knew it was inevitable.

He was broken from his thoughts as those bright brown eyes from the smallest of the two people in the room with him locked on to his. The smile remained on his face. He wanted to go to her and explain to her what had happened the night before, but he figured the point moot as she probably hadn't understood the parts that she had actually bore witness to, there was no way that she would be able to comprehend the intricate thoughts and emotion that had bombarded him last night. She glanced at Abbie who was still on the phone with Jenny and then back down at her toys. She raised her head again, looking back at him for a while before raising her hand and reaching out a toy to him, inviting him to play with her. His smile widened, he was being allowed back in, given another shot. Maybe not by Abbie yet, but he would deal with that later. Because right now his little girl was letting him back into her heart and he had to focus on seizing the opportunity and not messing it up again.

He knelt down on the floor next to the bathtub and began playing with the dolls and cups and blocks that sprayed water. They played for a little while, Abbie having stepped into the bedroom, as he could still hear her on the phone. He then grew a more serious face and turned to the child telling her that they should get her bathe and out of the tub before Abbie came back in wanting to wash her hair with that good awful shampoo. The child agreed. They both hated that lying shampoo.

The rest of the evening went by pretty uneventfully. They watched television and movies and ate mostly junk food until Macey got sleepy and cranky, to which Jenn and Hawley excused themselves, knowing that Abbie would have a harder time getting the child to bed with them still in the house. The left the other three adults and the child.

"Finally," Abbie said as she looked down at the sleeping child in her arms. She adjusted the child, preparing to take her to her bed.

"You want me to get her?" Luke tried to offer.

"I got her," Ichabod said standing up and carefully taking the child from Abbie. He was on to the man and he would not let him continue to try to weasel his way back into Abbie's life. Abbie followed him down the hall and they proceeded to tuck the child in as if it were a normal night and she was preparing to climb into her bed while he took up residence on the sofa, and though he wanted to stay, he wasn't sure he was invited to.

Abbie walked back into the living room and headed for the kitchen. She assumed Ichabod had gone to use the restroom and she saw Luke get up to follow her.

"Well you seem to have a lot more visitors than I remember you liking to," he told her with a smile as she went to the sink to put up the dishes she and Jenny had washed earlier.

"Yeah," she told him with a smile, "but I don't mind. I didn't realize how boring my life was until I was introduced to this chaos."

"Crazy how things change in such a seemingly short amount of time," he told her as he inched his way closer to her. She had her back turned so she hadn't noticed him until he was right on her. She turned around, surprised by how close he was.

She let out a nervous laugh, "Luke what are you doing?"

"I know one thing that hasn't changed though," he told her. "I still love you." He pressed his lips to hers, his hands going to her hips as hers went to his chest. She managed to pry his lips off of hers.

"Luke stop it," she told him, causing him to take a step back, but still he was standing pretty close to her.

"Sorry," he said looking a little flustered. "I'm sorry Abbie, I don't know what came over me, I just…"

"No," she told him, feeling a little guilty herself. She should have just put him out of his misery when he had asked if he could hang out with them today, but instead she had allowed him to come and she had even flirted with him a little, because old habits were hard to break. "I'm sorry. Today I may have been giving off some signals that I didn't mean to, and led you to think that I was interested in…"

"Abbie please," he said holding up his hands. "I get it, please stop." He said with a laugh, not really wanting to hear her say the words out loud. She looked down and smiled. "It was my fault. I know that you don't have feelings for me anymore, I mean I told you that I love you twice since I've been back and I always get the awkward cold shoulder."

She really felt sorry for the guy. She still wanted to be friends with him, she still loved him as a friend. "I get it."

"Luke it's not that I…," she tried to find the right words. "I still care about you as a friend. I want us to be friends. I don't want us to have this weird 'used to be but not anymore' vibe going on between us." She stopped when she saw how he was looking at her, with that glossed over look in his eyes. "Are you listening to me?" She asked him, her demeanor changing to slight disbelief.

"I'm listening," he smiled at her, as he could tell she was going to be annoyed with him if he, in fact, wasn't listening. "It's just that, you're so beautiful." He bought his hand up to her face, allowing his thumb to caress her cheek. "I missed you. A lot."

He leaned forward in an attempt to kiss her again, but she turned her head. "Com'on Abbs," he pleaded, causing her to turn back towards him. "One last kiss, for old time sake."

She looked into his eyes, wondering if she should allow him to kiss her, taking a what the hell attitude after feeling his lips press against hers again. It was an intense yet tender kiss, and she could feel it intensifying, but she felt helpless to stop it. She leaned further into them and she felt his hands drifting further down her body, snapping her back into reality when she felt him grip her backside.

"Mmhm, Luke," she said pulling away from him, though he still had his arms wrapped around her.

"Com'on Abbie, let me make you feel good," he nipped at her lips. "You've got a lot going on Babe, you deserve to feel good."

He nipped her lips again, looking into her eyes as he pulled back. He was right. She deserved to feel good and she be damned if he wasn't making her feel just that way. He leaned back in again and this time she kissed back, her hands gripping loosely at the front of his shirt.

"What is this?" A British voice sounded from the doorway. This caused Abbie to jump and she pushed Luke away from her as she backed up into the counter.

"Shit Crane," she said. "You scared the hell out of me." The room was quiet as Luke looked down at the floor trying not to yell at Crane for disrupting his moment with Abbie. She was still trying to get her heart to go back to a normal speed and Ichabod was still looking back and forth between the two of them, waiting for someone to tell him that it was a hallucination, that he hadn't just walked in on the two of them kissing.

"Macey still asleep?" she asked looking back at him.

He stared at her, trying to sort out his feelings. "She's fine." He needed to talk to her. "Leftenant, may I have a word alone with you?"

Abbie gave him a look, before turning to Luke and asking him to give them a few minutes.

"What's wrong?" she asked him after Luke had exited. She had seen the look on his face and she knew something was wrong.

"What is wrong," he told her rather shortly, "is you allowing that scoundrel to put his lips on you."

She gave him a confused look as she began trying to digest what was happening. Was he really upset with her because she had allowed her ex-boyfriend to kiss her? She let him continue as she still wasn't sure where he was taking this.

"Now I understand that we have had our differences as of late and that you are upset, but I cannot believe you have allowed your emotions to cloud your judgment so."

"Excuse me," she choked out, finally finding her words. Was he really trying to give her a lecture about emotions and bad judgement?

"The fight we had last night, it took a toll on the both of us," he told her. "I know that I have been…"

"Are you serious right now Crane?"

He just stared at her, having learned that that question was rhetorical most of the time. "You're lecturing me about letting my emotions get in the way of my judgment." He just continued to look at her. "Pot meet kettle," she mumbled as she turned her back to him, trying to calm herself as not to start yelling at him waking the child and possibly her next door neighbor.

"Leftenant," he tried.

"No," she told him as she turned back to face him. "You listen to me. It is not your place to tell me who I can or cannot be involved with. This is my life, I'm an adult. I make my own decisions on my own terms and if I mess up, I deal with the consequences. As you told me last night, your affairs with your wife is your own business, my affairs with Luke or anyone else I choose to entertain is mine. So you stay the hell out of it."

"Yes," he told her getting angry himself. If he had not had his emotions clouding his own judgement right then, he would have shut up. He would have shut up a long time ago, as a matter of fact, he probably wouldn't have even brought up the subject, but no. She had just started acknowledging him again and here he was about to screw it up again. "My affairs with my wife! You Leftenant, are not married to partake in…,"

"Exactly," she yelled interrupting him. "I'm not married, you are. That means I don't have a husband, so I can partake in whatever the hell I want with whoever the hell I want and you don't have a damn thing to say about it because you, Ichabod Crane, are not my husband, so I suggest you take some of this wisdom you have and use it to save your own fucked up marriage and get the hell out of my house before I shoot your ass."

"Everything okay in here?" Luke asked coming back into the kitchen after hearing them arguing.

Abbie just turned her back to the both of them. Ichabod, finally getting his common sense back attempted to apologize to which Abbie responded, "Just leave, Ichabod."

He nodded before he turned quietly and exited her home, missing it's warmth the moment his foot hit her front porch. He could have kicked himself. This was not the way he had wanted the day to end. He had wanted to fix the previous night, not have a repeat of it.

"You okay?" Luke asked after he had come back into the kitchen from locking the door behind Ichabod.

"I'm fine," she told him.

"You're not fine, Abbie," he told her. "You're shaking. Jesus, what did he do to you?" He put his hand on her shoulder and turned her to face him, trying to better inspect her. He went into hug her, mostly to see if he could physically stop her from shaking, but upon doing so she crushed her lips against his, her fingers coming up to touch his face softly as he deepened the kiss. He kissed back without hesitation, that was until he felt her hands tugging at the zipper on his pants.

"Abbie, wait wait," he said putting his hands on her shoulders and putting a little space between them. They stared at each other for a moment, him wondering if he was crazy for stopping her and her wondering the same. "You sure about this." She took another moment. No, she wasn't sure, but to hell with it. It was either this or spend the rest of the night awake in her bed alternating between angry and sad crying, because screw Ichabod and his ability to make her feel like this. So she responded by crushing her lips back against his. This time he didn't stop her.

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"Katrina," he called out as he entered the cabin. He wanted to alert her of his arrival back at the cabin. He looked around and noticed that everything was tidier than it had been when he had left the night before, but it was eerily quiet. He went into the bedroom thinking she may have been there. The bed was made, but she was no where to be found. He called out for her again as he walked back through the living room and into the kitchen, where there was no sign of her. He walked back into the living room, assuming that she had just stepped out, until he saw the note on the table. He saw the only word written on it before he had even gotten to it, but he picked it up anyway, staring at the single solitary word. "Goodbye."

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A/N: Review and let me know what you think!


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Sorry, again there are mistakes that I will need to fix later, but I hope you guys enjoy anyways. I like all the different interpretations people are getting from the story lol.**

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Abbie looked at her sister as both her hands covered her mouth. She had just told Jenny what happened between her and Luke Saturday night which she was embarrassed about, and of course the events that had transpired after, which she felt embarrassed about. She rested her elbows on her desk in the archives as she looked up at Jenny who was still processing the story as she had a somewhat confused look on her face. Thankfully she and Jenny were the only ones there since Ichabod and Hawley had gone out to grab their lunch.

"So, let me get this straight," Jenny started as she looked down at her sister. "You had a fight with Ichabod, kicked him out, then you let Luke go down on you, and then you kicked him out?" Jenny looked at her for affirmation.

She only nodded. "I know," she said moving her hands from her mouth to press gently into her eyes. "I'm a horrible person." She really did feel bad for using Luke to get off then kicking him out of the house. "But I couldn't let him stay," she defended as she dropped her hands. "Macey was there. The poor kids already confused enough."

Jenny smiled. "So that was the excuse you gave?"

"What?" Abbie exclaimed. "No. No Jenn, it wasn't an excuse. It's the truth." It really was the truth. She didn't want her daughter waking up to find the new guy from the day before was still in their home because even though she didn't know what that meant now, she would one day and she didn't want to start that habit or have the child remembering 'that guy' when she was actually old enough to understand what may or may not have happened. Thankfully it was the truth, or else she would have felt twice as bad about kicking Luke out in the middle of the night. "Don't give me that look."

"What?" Jenny asked, pushing Abbie's shoulders slightly. "I'm proud of you."

Abbie groaned_._ She had made a mess of things, well the Luke part was her fault, but the Ichabod part was mostly his fault. She was still angry at him but she was quickly losing her steam for it after their car ride this morning. First he had called her while she was trying to get Macey ready for school asking her, hesitantly, if she would be providing his transportation for the morning or if he should call a cab. She had rolled her eyes as she pulled the child's shirt over her head, cursing herself for feeling sorry for him since he sounded like he had been actually afraid to call her, as if he was unsure if they were still friends. And she felt bad about that because other than her, Jenn, and Hawley, Ichabod had no one other than Katrina, and that couldn't have been fun. She was angry at herself for having developed a soft spot for him.

_"Are we going to pick up Ichabod?" Macey asked gleefully from the back seat as she sat straight up in her booster seat to see more clearly if they were actually heading towards Ichabod's place, her excitement growing at seeing they were. _

_She glanced into the backseat at the child. "Yeah, we are Baby." She watched still as the child's smile widen and her eyes brightened even more as she continued to look out the window. Abbie couldn't help but to smile herself. "Are you excited to see Ichabod?"_

_"Yeah," Macey replied sitting back in her seat and hugging her stuffed bear to her. "I miss Ichabod, Mommy. I miss him a lot."_

_The smile disappeared from Abbie's face as she refocused her attention back on the road. She felt awful at hearing the child voice what she already knew. She shouldn't have never let it get this far as to affect Macey. She had had no control over it in the beginning and she had tried to stop it, but in her anger she had allowed it to progress, even though she had try to prevent just that. But that ancient bastard just made her so freaking crazy. "I know you do, Sweetie."_

Abbie was snapped back to the present as she heard Ichabod and Hawley coming into the entry way. Her head snapped up and she glared at Jenny. "Shut up," she told her. "You don't repeat any of this."

"As if I would ever," Jenny smiled as she walked back to table in the center of the room to clear a space so they could eat.

Abbie groaned inwardly, wondering if she should have ever told Jenny about what happened in the first place. She stood up from her desk and made her way over to the table to help Jenny clear it of the books at papers that cluttered it.

"You can't throw for crap," Hawley said as another one of the left over fries that Jenny was trying to toss into his mouth fell to the floor.

"Well maybe you're not as skilled with your mouth as you think you are," she smirked with a raised eyebrow. Abbie laughed and Ichabod let out a smile of his own, though he was sure there was a double entendre as the women seemed too amused and the smile had fallen from Hawley's face.

Abbie stood up from the table, still laughing at the playful bickering that had ensued between her sister and her lover, clearing her food from the table and going back over to her work station to see if there was any mention in Grace's diary about these medallions they were trying to locate. The other three people at the table followed her actions and proceeded to ease back into their own work.

She had been at her desk no more than five minutes when she felt his tall frame looming over her, blocking out some of the sunlight she had been getting from the window in front of her.

"Hey, what's up?" she asked glancing up at him before turning back to the diary in front of her. She really was trying to get over their horrible weekend, mostly for Macey's sake. But she was also starting to feel bad. Something about him was off about him. He just seemed sadder, quieter, and desolate.

"I just wanted to thank you for affording me transportation this morning," he told her. "I know that my behavior over these past few days have angered you and again I just wanted to apologize. It was not me intentions to…" he started but she held up her hand cutting him off. She really was tired of hearing him apologize.

"Crane, please stop apologizing," she told him as she stood up to go over to the book case to search for another source of information. He followed. "I've told you, it's fine. I'm over it."

He nodded, though he could tell that she was not completely 'over it'. She was trying and had made a successful effort to engage him in conversation, but there was still something between them blocking them from falling into their usual easy and effortless interactions. She was not as open to him as she had been in the past.

"There is something else that I wanted to speak with you about, Leftenant," he started but her attention had already left him as she stared wide-eyed at the door, causing him to notice the voice coming from the entry way. He turned to see who it was, but it seemed that Abbie didn't need to see the person to know who it was as he soon felt her pushing up against his back, gripping his jacket tightly.

"If you move, I'll hurt you," she told him, right as he saw Luke walk into the room, ending the phone conversation he had been having.

"Hi guys," the man greeted with a smile as he seemingly scanned the room to see who all was there.

"Luke?" Jenny said as she shot a look over at Abbie, or Ichabod as Abbie was no longer in sight. She then looked at Hawley who had a confused look as well at Abbie's sudden disappearance. The blond man took his feet down from the desk and sat up straighter suddenly interested in what was going on. "What are you doing here?"

"Actually," he replied, "I was looking for your sister. She around?"

"No, sorry. She just stepped out." Ichabod's head snapped towards Jenny at her response.

Why was she lying to the man? Not that he was in favor of Luke having any interactions with Abbie, but there was something going on that he was unaware of and he didn't like it.

"Really? Because I saw her car outside," he tried, but this time Hawley was the one who spoke.

"She borrowed my car," he told the man, causing Jenny's head to snap towards him. She was about to laugh and poke fun at him because that man let no one drive that car. She didn't even think he trusted himself driving it a lot of the times. But then she remembered they were lying. "She had to make a run and I had her blocked in," Hawley finished, knowing that his car was parked back at the dock as they had driven Jenny's truck in this morning.

"Oh," Luke said dumbly. "Could you tell her I stopped by then?"

"Sure," Jenny told him, becoming anxious to get the man out of the place as she could see Ichabod getting antsy in the corner of her eye.

"And tell her I called too," he told them. "She's not answering for some reason."

"She actually went to the cell phone store to get that fix," Hawley told him as he sat back down and put his feet up again, seemingly less confused and happier.

"Yeah," Luke said as he walked out of the building. He felt something was off, but couldn't quite put his finger own it, so he just left deciding to wait for Abbie to call him.

It wasn't until she heard the door closed that Abbie stepped out from behind Ichabod, staring at the entry way.

"Ooooh," she heard Hawley's taunting voice coming from the other side of the room.

"Shut up," she told him.

"Did you sleep with him?" Hawley asked, not being able to take a not so subtle hint.

Abbie was sure she could feel the wind from how fast Ichabod's head turned towards her. She refused to look at him.

"Yes," said Jenny.

"No," Abbie corrected.

"Oral sex is still sex Abbs," Jenny told her, before mumbling so only Hawley could here, "even if you kicked him out after."

Jenny smiled as Hawley let out an amused "What?" and went on tell Abbie about how he approved.

"Leftenant," Ichabod called to her after he could see she was willfully avoiding looking at him.

She turned to him and gave him a look that asked if he really wanted to go back down this road. He in turn raised an eyebrow that said 'well I'm just saying'. To which Abbie replied by rolling her eyes to walk over to her now ringing cell phone. Jenny laughed having witnessed their silent conversation.

Abbie sighed as she picked up the phone, thinking it was Luke again and prepared to hit the do not answer button to send him straight to voice mail again. To her surprise, it was actually Macey school. She answered and after verifying that she was the person they had been trying to reach, they told her that the child was sick and needed to be picked up early if possible. She had asked what was wrong it was explained to her that it was probably a virus as a couple of the kids in her classroom was also out sick. "Okay, I'm on my way," Abbie said not too excited about what the next few days and nights for that matter would be like with an ill four year old to take care of.

She hung up and started to gather her things, informing them that she was going to be leaving early and that Macey was sick. Ichabod followed closely behind her.

When they got to the preschool they were met by Macey's teacher who came up to talk to them. She informed them that a lot of the kids in the other classes were also out sick, and one Mom had called to tell her that they had been told it was the flu. It looked like the flu was hitting a little early this year. She also took the time to give them some warning signs as the teachers at the school had just had a seminar with the local pediatrician as the flu could often be deadly to younger children if warning signs were missed. Abbie made a mental note to call their pediatrician and make an appointment for the following day and thanked the teacher for those warning signs, knowing now that she knew them she would be watching the child like a hawk. Why did little people have to be so fragile? The teacher then pointed to a table that was empty save for one child with her head down on the table seemingly asleep.

"I don't feel well Ms. Darling," Abbie heard a little boy say as they walked towards the teacher.

"Mace," Abbie said kneeling down next to the child brushing some of the hair out of her face and rubbing her back. Ichabod stood by eyeing the children, starting to think they weren't as cute as they seemed as he watched one little boy lick a block before a little girl ripped it from his hand and proceeded to put it on top of her tower, then rubbing her eyes that with the hand that he was sure was covered with the boy's slobber. He grimaced.

The child eye's fluttered open to see her mother had finally come to get her.

"You ready to go home?" Abbie asked her.

"I don't feel good Mommy," she replied reaching for the woman.

"Oh, I know Baby," Abbie replied as she picked the child up and stood.

"Here," Allison, the teacher said, "I can show you were her things are."

Abbie handed the child to Ichabod before following the teacher into the little back room that seemed to house cubbies and coats and extra clothes just in case. When she went back into the main class room she saw that Macey had fallen back to sleep, her head on Ichabod's shoulder as he gently rubbed her back. She went over to them and sat the bag down before taking the coat and starting to put it on the child who whined a little at being woken up again.

"Tell me Leftenant," he said looking around at the children as if they had two heads, "this flu, is it commonly deadly."

Abbie looked up at him as she put the child's other arm into her coat and flipped the hood over her head. She could see the concern in his eyes. "It can be, but not nearly as bad as it was back in your day I'm sure. It usually just makes you feel really crappy for about a week or so," she told him. "So buckle in, because it's going to be a long night," she told him before picking up the bag and walking towards the door. He took a second realizing that she had just invited him back into her home on her own will. He had been tempted to ask but didn't know how well it would go over. It seems now that he wouldn't have to. He smiled to himself as he followed behind her, drawing the sleeping child closer to him to brace her from the cold air outside.

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**A/N: So I rewatched some season 1 today and found myself staring at the television wide eyed and tense like I had never seen this before lol. Waiting for season 3 so we can start yelling at the television again for good reasons meaning we're being entertained not disenfranchised, because yes season 2 was that serious lol. Anyways, review!**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Alright, whew! I'm back. Well not back back but hopefully back back by the end of the summer but I will try to update more often than this long break. Not going to lie a got a little bit of writter's block for a while so that was part of the delay. Then someone asked for something juicy so I figured why not. Oh, sigh. Has anyone seen that new Dick's Sporting Goods commercial, it always makes me feel like crap LOL. So inspiring, yet I'm still not working out like I !**

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He watched with drawn eyebrows as his partner paced around the house, the phone secured snuggly between her ear and her shoulder as she held the sleeping child. Macey had fallen asleep on the ride home but unfortunately had woken up when they had taken her out of the car and was now clinging to Abbie, which left Abbie tied up until the child had fallen back to sleep again.

"Hey," Abbie said, finally getting a live person on the phone. She proceeded to tell the nurse at the pediatrician's office what was going on with Macey and made an appointment with them first thing the next morning. She also asked if she should just forgo the appointment the next day and just take the child into the emergency department that night. To which the nurse had responded that if she was concerned enough that she should before proceeding to give her a list of things that should make her concerned enough. But since she didn't start telling them to grab their things and head to the hospital immediately and she didn't see any of those signs she decided to wait it out for the time being. She then craned her neck a little pressing the side of her face against the child's forehead as she continued to listen intently to whatever the nurse was saying. He then noticed that she pressed her lips to the child's forehead as she continued to pace and stare at the floor before replying softly, "She's warm, but we'll keep an eye on it." She told the nurse about the cough then listened a little longer before thanking the nurse and hanging up the phone.

He looked back down at his computer, thinking that her pacing episode was finally over and that he could get some work in. He had managed to hit just one key before he noticed her shadow over him. He barely had time to take the computer off of his lap before he felt her slipping the child into his arms.

"Here," was the only thing she said before disappearing down the hallway. She was anxious. He knew because it was rubbing off on him, though he didn't understand why. He had asked her more about the flu on their ride home and she had assured him that most healthy people usually did fine with it and that they had no reason to panic and think that Macey was one of those outliers. His eyes then moved to the child in his arms. He sighed. At least she was getting some rest. Abbie appeared from down the hallway with the thermometer that she had bought earlier. She proceeded to place the probe in the child's ear and he heard the device beep as some lines moved around on the screen.

"One-o-one point two," she said with a sigh. "Aw baby," she said placing a kiss on top of the sleeping child's head. She looked worried for a moment before she got up and disappeared down the hall again before returning with a bottle of medicine. He only watched as she kneeled next to him on the couch before gently waking the child.

"Why are you waking her?" he asked her.

"We need to break this fever," she told him simply. "She needs to take this."

He simply watched as the child stirred, Abbie telling her to open her mouth as she placed the dropper to her lips. Macey only craned her neck backwards and groaned. Abbie persisted, able to get a drop of it onto the child's lips.

"Stop," Macey whined.

"Baby you have to take this," Abbie told her to which Macey responded, "It's nasty."

Abbie sat back on her hunches and huffed. "Crane hold her arms."

He gave her an incredulous look. "I most certainly will not."

Abbie would have laughed at how offended he was if it were not for the more serious matter of keeping Macey's fever controlled. She did smile however as she did find the look he was giving her a little amusing.

"Crane," she said more sternly, "hold her hands."

"Leftenant," he tried, but she cut him off.

"Crane, I know," she reasoned with him, "it seems like we are doing this horrible thing to her. But one of the reasons that children have parents is to keep them alive and out of harm's way and to make them do things that's good for them, that they aren't willing to do on their own. If we do not break this fever, we are going to be in the emergency department tonight and she's going to be feeling worse than she is now, and on top of that, there are going to be a whole bunch of strangers prodding at her and sticking her with needles in order to give her medicines, but we can prevent all of that if you would just hold her damn hands."

He opened his mouth to protest but he had no rebuttal. He knew that these modern medicines were life saving in the fact that they easily treated things that would have killed people during his times, including fever.

"Alright, but I will have you know that I do not like this. And if she remembers this when she is older, I will inform her that this was entirely your idea Leftenant."

"Yeah, yeah," Abbie nodded her head. Before prepping the dropper. "Alright, Mace, you gotta take this medicine, Sweetie." She nodded at Ichabod and he grabbed the child's hands, hugging her to him.

She immediately tried to flail and at realizing she was being restrained, she opened her mouth to cry. Abbie, seeing the opportunity quickly squirted the medicine down the child's throat, causing her to sputter at her realizing she had lost this battle, she continued to cry as she buried her face into Icahbod's chest, saying that the medicine tasted awful. Ichabod hugged her closer and began telling her that it wasn't that bad and promising to buy her candy and a new toy once she felt better. Abbie playfully rolled her eyes as she got up from the couch, happy with herself for making that fight as short as possible. A smile graced her face as she also found it really cute the way that Macey was starting to slowly wrap Ichabod around her little finger. But then again who was she kidding. That ship had sailed already.

* * *

Abbie placed the warm mug in front of her partner before sitting down opposite of him at the table with her own. They were awake, again, for the second time that night. Thankfully Macey's temperature wasn't climbing, it was still pretty high at one hundred point five, but it wasn't rising. She had woken up crying not too long ago and after wrestling another dose of the medication into her, they had been able to get her back to sleep. Unfortunately for them, they weren't falling into a fever induced sleep or any other type of sleep anytime soon. She was tired, exhausted even, but she couldn't seem to fall back to sleep, especially with the fear of Macey waking her again looming over her. She figured Ichabod was having the same problem or he was just trying to be nice and stay up with her. They had been sitting and talking, jumping from topic to topic. They were now on the discussion of Jenn and Hawley, to which Abbie had no idea what exactly was going on between them. One minute they were madly in love, the next they were fighting like cats and dogs.

"So how have things been going with you and Katrina," she asked before taking a sip of her mug. She really hadn't wanted to bring up the subject, but she knew that she probably should sooner or later. She was trying really hard to get over her dislike for the woman, which really didn't seem to be working. She was also trying really hard to get over being angry with Ichabod and be a good friend to him. She was having a little more success in thinking about it that way. Still, Katrina was one of the last people she wanted to talk about, but she knew it was one of the more major subjects for him. So she bit the bullet.

He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came. He closed his mouth again as his eyes diverted towards the floor and he made a curious noise before smiling sadly. "Honestly Leftenant, I haven't the slightest notion."

Her head tilted to the side and her brows came closer together, not really sure what he was going to say next.

"I haven't seen her in almost a week," he informed her. "She became very upset with me shortly after we returned to the cabin," his eyebrows lifted as he spoke as if about the reveal the most pleasant of coincidents, only he was being sarcastic. "The same night you became upset with me as a matter of fact. It seems that I actually managed to not do single thing right that night."

She smiled, but then remembered that his wife had left him, and his humor was most likely his way of hiding his hurt. She turned away feeling partially responsible.

"Look, Ichabod. I'm sorry."

"You have no reason to be sorry Leftenant." She watched him as he sat in thought for a few seconds. "Neither does Katrina. We were all doing what we believed to be the best for ourselves and the ones we love. One should never apologize for that."

She opened her mouth to speak, but decided against her chosen words at the last minute. Her mouth closed before she gave him a sympathetic smile. "Well, I'm sure she will come to her senses sooner or later," she lied. She honestly didn't think that the woman had any better senses. She had definitely never displayed them in front of her. Then she realized something.

"Wait," she said holding up her hand. "You mean to tell me that before tonight you had been spending every night alone since she left?"

He looked at her and she had her answer. She scoffed and brought her hands up to her face. She felt like crap. She almost wanted to cry. She was tough, but she hated feeling like she had inflicted pain on anyone who wasn't deserving of it, especially the people she loved. And though she felt like he deserved it in the beginning, now that she was back talking to him and knew that he had been spending most of the last few days almost completely isolated as she was ignoring him, she felt horrible about it. After all, it wasn't like he had anyone else besides the four people he interacted with on a daily basis, Macey not included. But Katrina had left him and she had effectively removed herself and unintentionally Jenny and Hawley and even Macey from his list of people that he could confide in and just have a more intimate human interaction than passing someone by on the street, he had no one.

"You…," she started, but decided it probably, again, wasn't her best choice of words, so she changed them. "You should've told me," she looked at him and he could see this topic was causing her distress. "Ichabod, I didn't…" she seemed to be struggling to find the words. So he saved her.

"Leftenant it is quite alright," he started. "It was fine. It actually gave me some time to reflect and catch up on somethings. Oh, Leftenant have you ever heard of Pinterest. It is actually quit a marvelous conception…

"Yes," Abbie said talking over him before he could get started all the way. "I know what Pinterest is Ichabod." She knew that he had been lonely and she felt bad for that but he wasn't alone anymore and she was not about to let him go on a long tirade positive or negative about Pinterest.

He stared at her for a moment trying to gage if he should continue or not. He really wanted to continue. He thought that it was actually a good website and he wanted to discuss with her the different ways they could use it. But it seemed that she was not interested at the time.

"Yes well," he started again. "I tried recreating some of the recipes. Needless to say it didn't go as well as I expected it to go."

Abbie started laughing. "You are too much Ichabod Crane."

They sat in silence for a moment before she opened the box that had been sat in the middle of the table. It had been filled with several trinkets they were still trying to figure out. They both took turns taking different pieces from the box, studying them, and trying to see if they could come up with a meaning or use for any of them. It wasn't until Ichabod gasped softly before ripping the piece she had in her hand away from her and pressing it to the piece he had been holding. When they heard the satisfying snap, both of their eyes widened as they looked at each other. Ichabod smiled before turning the pieces in opposite directions. Fortunately it worked. Unfortunately it working meant that a piece popped open, sending dust and debris flying into Ichabod's face.

He hissed immediately as he dropped the pieces and held his left eye.

"You okay?" Abbie asked him, thinking that the man was just being the drama king that he usually was.

"I think a piece of wood flew into my eye," he told her calmly, though he remained grimacing.

"Here, let me see," she said getting up from her side of the table and making her way over to him, hands out stretched and eager to begin the inspection.

"No, no," he said standing from his seat, still holding his eye with one hand and extended the other arm to keep her at bay. "I'm okay. There's no need for us to go playing doctor again."

He was referring to the first time that she had used isopropyl alcohol to clean his cuts after a fight with one of the demons. He had complained like a child and she had told him that it couldn't have been any worse than that alcohol that they used back in his day, to which he had replied, "Yes, but we were also allowed to drink that alcohol before pouring it into a gaping hole in our bodies." To which she replied, unimpressed, "Ichabod it's a scrape. It didn't even bleed."

She took another step towards him and he took a step away from her. She ended up walk-chasing him into the living room. "Really Abigail, I am fine," he protested, "see." He took his hand away from his eye and tried to open it, but ended up squinting and also allowing Abbie to get a good look at the redness that had started to descend upon the orb.

"Ichabod that looks really bad," she said quickly stepping up onto her coffee table grabbing his face to get a better look. He started blinking rapidly as she turned his eye to the light in the room. She put a thumb on his upper and lower eyelid trying to hold his eye open to get a better look.

"Oh that looks like it hurts," she said getting a better look at the eye.

"Yes, but the pain is made all the more better by you digging your fingers into the back of my eye socket," he quipped back. She ignored him.

"Wait, I see something," she said forcing his head to tilt a little more. His neck was in an uncomfortable position, but he let her continue. "Hold on, I think I can get it." She said hopping off of the table and going down the hallway.

He sighed and sat down in the large arm chair, trying not to blink now as he could feel whatever was in there scraping against his eye every time he did. He barely had time to breathe before his overly zealous partner reentered the living room with a box of tissues, a small little bottle and a cotton swab, looking as if she was preparing for a botched surgery.

"What are you going to do with that?" he asked, actually becoming a little afraid now.

She looked at him as if it was obvious. "I'm going to flush that thing out of your eye." Her hands went towards his face and he pushed them away.

"No, you are not," he told her.

She looked at him before sucking her teeth. "Com'on Crane stop being a baby," she said going at him again.

He continued to try to fight her off, but being that he was partially incapacitated and he was already sitting down, she had the jump on him. That and the woman had a significant amount of lower body strength and she knew how to use it and her small frame to trap him. She ended up straddling him with one hand pinned partially under himself and partially trapped by her thigh. At one point he thought he had had her, but his long limbs had not served him well in blocking the precise calculations that she had no doubt incorporated into training to compensate for her smaller frame. After she had finally gotten him pinned he looked up into her face and saw that she had somewhat of a smile on her face and a glint in her eye, that she usually got after a satisfying victory.

He gave an exasperated sigh. "Really Abigail, this is ridiculous."

Her smile disappeared. "Tell me about it. You're a grown man afraid of a cotton swab and some eye drops. Now come here."

She went to work flushing and swabbing and apologizing when she actually did swab too hard for his sensitive eye.

He wanted to fight, he really did. But his eye and getting away from her was now not even a conscious thought of his as the woman was currently straddling him, and her face was close enough to his as she concentrated on her work that all he would have to do is purse his lips to make them come into contact with hers. It didn't help that when she really got into it she adjusted her hips, causing her center to brush his crotch. She hadn't even realized that she had given him enough room to free his hand. He hadn't either, but clearly his hand had as it came to rest on her hip. Still she continued to work.

"Almost got it," she whispered to herself. She wasn't talking to him, she was just in to her work. He knew that, but still her words reminded him of the task at hand. So he tried to brush the thought of her center hovering mere millimeters over his manhood, and the fact that he was sure that he could feel the heat through both their clothes as his thin cotton pants and her small cotton shorts didn't do much to block it. He also tried to ignore how smooth her skin felt beneath his fingertips as his one hand skimmed lightly across her lower back, the other hand doing the same to her thigh, just at the edge of her shorts. She thought that he was just nervous and fidgeting, making the mistake of letting his fingers linger to close to her exposed skin.

He had almost managed to push the thought away and withdraw his hands but then she licked her lips, and he was sure that he could feel the tip of her tongue brush his top lip, though she didn't seem to notice so he may have been imagining it or it was just wishful thinking. And he didn't know what kind of fragrances or soaps she had used over the years to get that scent permanently etched into her skin, but his mouth watered every time they got this close.

She felt his fingers apply a little more pressure to her skin, but figured it was due to the fact that she was swabbing again. The thought had just crossed her mind of how good his fingers felt on her but that thought was over shadowed by victory.

"Got it," she smiled as she went to sit back on her hunches, only she didn't make it too far. She heard his sharp inhale and looked down into his face to see that his eyes had turned dark. And she mentally blanked as she felt like her whole body was in the process of going up in flames, starting at the places his hands were currently touching her bare skin and spreading outwards.

He had lean forward a little right as she had tried to pull away, he hadn't really known why and figured he was just being drawn closer to her by some unseen force she was exerting over him. He had also instinctively pulled her closer to him when she had tried to pull away. It was as if time slowed and the only thing that his sense could pick up was her, and his deep breathing matching her own. Being from a time where men relied more biological and social cues from women to know when they were interested, he easily noticed the way her pupils dilated and how she didn't push him away. He was just about to come back to his senses when she let out a soft unsure whisper of, "Ichabod" drawing his attention to her lips. His eyes flickered back up to hers momentarily before going back to her lips. He leaned forward only slightly allowing their lips to brush against each other.

He paused there as he waited for one of the Ichabod's in his head to overpower the other again. He hated to admit it but the old school, honor thy union and protect your partner's virtue was getting his ass kicked.

He felt Abbie lean her body into his a little more as her hands gripped his biceps and she let out a trembling breath against his lips. She was definitely sending him all the primal ques. He felt all his resolution leaving him at that moment as he crashed his lips against hers. She responded by immediately opening her mouth, allowing him to deepen the kiss.

Her hands drifted up to clutch at the shirt he had on as she leaned her body forward into his causing him to lean back a little in the chair as she nipped at his bottom lip, the kiss growing more feverish by the second. He responded by threading his fingers through her curls, cupping the back of her head as he leaned forward trying to reclaim his position as alpha. He'd always imagined that a romantically physical episode with Abbie would be an exacting one, but he never realized that he would be even this much more turned on by the challenging of his alpha-hood.

The arm that was wrapped around her waist pulled her in closer and she felt the bulge in his pants press against her inner thigh. That and the way that Ichabod seemed to be challenging her as she tried to take over the situation caused an embarrassing moan to leave her mouth. She really shouldn't have been kissing her partner, but it turned out it was a little hard to stop. It was like she had finally gotten her lips on an ice cold glass of water after journeying a little too close to one of the circles of hell, when your body is begging you to take a breath but your mouth just won't stop drinking.

She moaned again and felt a pool of wetness growing between her legs as he tugged softly at her hair and pulled her down onto him a little more causing her to feel even more of that bulge, and damn if she wasn't impressed.

Just as she felt his lips drifting away from hers and too her jawline, she was reminded that they were not alone. She heard a trembling "Mommy," and jumped what felt like ten feet away from her partner, though she was still sitting in his lap, as her head whipped around in the direction of the voice to see a red little nose and chubby little tear stained cheeks that were also flushed. The child sniffed before a few more tears fell down her cheek, "I don't feel good."

"Aw baby," Abbie said as she pushed away from Ichabod and managed to stand on her shaking legs. She mentally cursed herself for reacting so strongly to him. "Come here," she said walking over to Macey. The child only raised her arms and, as expected, was lifted up into her mother's arms. Ichabod watched still from the arm chair as they disappeared down the hall.

He looked at the television set that was currently off, trying to figure out if the pass few minutes had been real or not. He looked at the tent in his pants and decided that it had been real. He pulled the throw cover off of the back of the chair and onto his lap, all of a sudden self-conscious at the thought of Abbie walking back into the room when only moments ago he had been pressing it against her. He rolled his eyes as the fact that they had allowed themselves to succumb to such childish whims, well, if he was honest, he had started it. His eyes fell to the floor. Actually he wasn't really sorry at all, he just knew that he should be, so he was trying to be. Well he felt a little upset about it but it wasn't for the reasons he should have been. He was completely upset with himself and his situation and being unable to allow himself to Abbie to further explore whatever it was that had just happened between them.

* * *

She had taken the child's temperature again and it had risen again to one hundred and two. She had then gotten her to take another dose of medicine though there had been a lot of crying involved, during which time Ichabod had come to knock on the door and she had told him that it was fine, she had it. He had studied her quietly from the door and she had refused to look up at him. How could she? They had kissed. She had kissed her technically married partner, or unmarried depending on how you looked at it. He had quietly closed the door, and she had managed to get Macey back to sleep. She had also fallen asleep next to the child and had only just woken up two hours later. She grabbed the thermometer off of the night stand and took the child's temperature without waking her, thankfully her temperature was dropping, but there would definitely be no school today and minimal work if any and that was the only two hours of sleep she had really gotten and they had a doctor's appointment in another two hours. She sighed and stretched preparing to ready herself for the day that would hopefully be better than the night as far as Macey and her exhaustion was concern and not awkward as far as Ichabod was concerned.

She slipped out of the child's bed and went to open the door. As she did she was sure she jumped at least a foot off of the ground at the lanky figure blocking the doorway.

"Shit Ichabod, what the hell?" her hand went to her chest, a comfort measure to slow her heart.

"We need to talk," was his reply.

She looked around her to make sure that the child was still asleep as she was pretty sure she had screamed a little. She then turned back to her partner.

"No," she told him firmly, "we don't."

She pushed passed him and felt a passing wobble in her knees as their bodies came into contact with one another's.

"Abbie," he said as he wrapped his large hand around her arm causing her to turn and face him. "About last night."

"Nothing happened last night, Crane," she told him. "Let it go."

His brows furrowed as she pulled away from him, prepared to walk away. "Do you mean to say you want to just ignore what…," he tried but she cut him off.

"That's exactly what I'm trying to say," she told him. "And you're making it pretty hard because you keep on talking about it. So stop talking about it." She said with hand gestures and facial expressions letting him know that she was done with the subject, before turning to walk away again.

"Well I'm not talking about it," he told her matter of factly. "I'm trying to, but you won't let me. You know Leftenant it is not of admirable character to deny someone the expression of their feelings only so you can run away from your own."

"Got damn it Crane," she said turning back to face him. "You are married," she air quoted the word, "to a woman who is a witch, that birthed your evil son who, mind you, we are trying to stop from destroying the world. A woman who hates me just as much as I hate her and who I am pretty sure is on the side of evil now, a side that involves your headless ex best friend who you killed and who killed you and who I suspect still probably wants you dead. Not to mention that you and I have to work together for the next five years to stop them. Oh, and that little girl on the other side of the door, we are also responsible for protecting her and actually helping her to grow up into a decent human being through all of this. And you wanna know what the kicker is, out of all of that I just mentioned, we don't have a damn clue about how to go about accomplishing or resolving any of this. But please," she said stepping back and holding her hand out as if giving him the floor, "do complicate things more by telling me about how we just complicated things."

He gave her a look as she stood staring back at him. "Well you don't have to be so bumptious about it," he told her. "I only meant to straighten things out. It is clear that there are some feelings between you and I that have been ignored for a while now. I just…"

No, no, no. She needed him to stop talking before he said something that she didn't want to hear. But the bastard wouldn't shut up. She figured the only way that she could stop him was to say it herself, maybe it wouldn't sting as bad. "Look Crane, I get it. You and Katrina are having problems. Things got a little carried away last night on both our…,"

What? He was offended that she would even imply. "That is not what this is, Abigail," he said going all professor stance on her again. She wanted to argue him on this but the look of anger and hurt on his face showed of raw emotions and she was too conflicted in her own feelings to take her own stance. He continued. "I assure you that my feelings for you have nothing to do with the feelings that I may or may not share with my wife. I care for you deeply, as a friend and quite possibly more but it seems that you cannot or choose not to see that. It also seems that you are not ready to have this discussion about what happened last night and I do not feel the need to stand here any longer and allow you to offend my intentions towards you. So when you are ready to have this conversation, please, let me know."

They just stared at each other for a few seconds before she spoke softly. "We are never going to have this conversation, Ichabod," she said sadly. "So please, just let it go." With that she walked pass him opting to go to her room instead of to the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee. She needed a few minutes alone to process. She realized that the reason that she had been so upset with him these past couple of weeks had more to do with her own feelings than with his actions. Her sadness over him always choosing Katrina over her and trying to pass his unwanted opinion on her love life stemmed partly if not mostly from her hurt about it and her frustration of not being able to acknowledge or express her feelings for him. He was her best friend, they were close. And somewhere along the line she had developed deeper feelings for him. She was in a way jealous of Katrina, the attention and affection she got from him. Something that would always be reserved for the other woman and not her. She still would not be able to express these new found feelings but she hoped that now that they had been revealed to her, she could deal with them in a healthier way than hooking up with her exes.

It took her about an hour to get dressed, after which she emerged from her room. She would have to grab breakfast later as she still needed to get Macey's things together before heading for the doctor's office. Getting Macey together on the other hand, didn't go so well, even with Ichabod helping. The child had cried and whined more than not and she had ultimately settled for tying the girl's curls into a puffy ponytail with a couple of hair ties and sliding some socks and a pair of blue chuck taylors on her and leaving the pajamas stay.

"I've got her," Ichabod had offered as he scooped the blanket wrapped child from the couch. This was the extent of their conversation the rest of the morning. They only spoke concerning things about the child or their work plans for the day. Yeah, things weren't awkward at all.

* * *

**A/N: Please leave reviews and again suggestions if there is anything you want to see. I will use them if I get writer's block again or if they give me an idea I may spin it up a little. Now for mischief and debauchery fueled by alcohol. Happy Memorial Day Weekened!**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Okay, next chapter. Not sure how conjoined it is since I typed it pretty quickly. But hope you like it. Oh, and Katrina didn't cause the flu, but she should be popping back up pretty soon with her unwantedness. And the more I think about this Hawley thing. Don't get me wrong I still like Hawley, but what sick freak thought that it would be attractive to have him having sex with or having had sex with sisters. SMH. And then Henry...you know how much we could have loved to hate him. Do you know? I am happy that we have a better outlook but we lost two potentially favorite characters of mine last season. Smh again. **

* * *

Jenny couldn't help the laughed that escaped her at hearing Macey's loud, playful screams coming from the living room. The child was feeling a little better and it was pretty obvious as they listened to her and Ichabod playing in the living room.

"Wow, good luck tonight Sis," she told Abbie. "She is wired."

"Yeah thanks to you and Hawley letting her eat all of that candy," she replied. They had missed Halloween because the child had been sick. She had been sad when Abbie told her that it was too cold out for them to go and trick or treat, but she had still been running a low grade fever. Then there had been tears, so Abbie had asked Jenny to pick up some candy from that candy store they all loved, and of course they had overdone it, and then she had made the follow up mistake of letting them chaperone the child while she and Ichabod followed up on a lead.

Things were still a little weird between her and her partner. She was trying to get over it she really was, but he seemed to still be a little upset with her. She figured it was because she refused to sit down and analyze with him what that kissed had meant. God she could hardly even look at him, mainly because when she did, she could feel her body reacting to him in ways that it should not have been. It seemed that she had opened up the flood gates, and the only way to deal with the water was to ignore it…but you ended up drowning just the same. But he didn't have any problems looking at her, in fact he couldn't keep his eyes off of her which didn't help with her physical reaction to him. He was either giving her lustful looks that caused her to have to press her thighs together to quell her bodies reaction, or he was giving her disappointing yet hopeful looks that sometimes made her want to crawl into a dark corner to avoid him or crawl back into his arms and profess her new found feelings and began a new makeout session. But neither of those were options at this point.

Macey let out a long, high pitched scream that they heard coming closer to them in the kitchen. Soon they saw the child rounding the corner into the kitchen followed by Ichabod. Amazingly, the child continued to hold the scream as she ran around Abbie as the woman tried to tell her she needed to start winding down as her bed time was in about three hours. The child continued to scream as she ran circles around her mother, daring Ichabod to chase her.

Jenny didn't miss the way Ichabod paused as he stopped chasing the girl, sharing a look with his partner. She saw the smile mostly disappear from Abbie's face as she met Ichabod's eyes, before she quickly diverted her eyes away from his. Macey who noticed that Ichabod was no longer chasing her decided to run back out into the living room, still holding that note. Jenny watched still as Ichabod continued to give Abbie a stern look before turning to go after the child.

Abbie turned back to the counter, continuing to wash the fruit she had recently bought.

"Well at least you don't have to worry about that cold turning into pneumonia," Jenny said at Macey's impressive lung skills. Abbie gave a small laugh. She was happy the child was feeling better but she was still running a fever on and off. She continued to work at the sink, trying to get past the awkward interaction that had just occurred. But Jenny wasn't having any of that. She had noticed how weird they had been around each other for the last few days, but she hadn't said anything.

"So what's going on between you and Icky?" she asked as she stood up from the table preparing to actively interrogate her sister.

"What'd you mean?"Abbie asked her, not looking at her.

"It seems like you guys have been a little off kilter," she said. "You don't talk as much as you used to."

"Well," Abbie said preparing to wing a lie, "the guy's wife just left him. He's going through something. And I honestly don't know what to tell him since very few of my friends are married and even less are separated."

"Hmm," Jenny said, nodding her head as she came to stand next to Abbie. She agreed. It was a little weird. She didn't know what to tell the man herself. She felt sorry for him, but also relieved for him, because it seemed like a shaky marriage to begin with. But still it was strange. Abbie and Ichabod had never had trouble finding words for each other before. "Are you sure that's all it is though?"

Abbie stretched her eyes and nodded, an exaggerated response to make her lie seem more believable. Soon they heard the abundantly hearty giggles of the four year old drifting through the house. The two sisters couldn't help but to laugh themselves, whatever was going on in there, Macey was deeply amused by it.

"He's good with her," Jenny said. "I don't know about you but I'm happy he signed those papers. I think this," she said motioning to the environment around them, "is good for her. You're good for her."

Abbie smiled. She really was touched by her sister's statement. She doubted herself sometimes when it came to parenting the girl, but times like these restored her confidence and gave her the motivation to keep going. She listened as the child continued to laugh. She was happy. "Thanks Jenn."

Abbie and Jenny stayed in the kitchen talking and getting caught up over the last few days since Abbie had been busy with nursing Macey. She had been exhausted, she was still exhausted as she had still not been able to sleep throughout the night. The nights were better, but the child still woke up at least once as the fever came back, and she was up for a few hours when that happened as they would settle in the large recliner and watch cartoons until the child could fall back to sleep. Abbie went into the living room to ask Ichabod to start winding it down some, to which they decided to watch a movie. She went back into the living room but it wasn't long after she heard the familiar coughing. Thirty minutes later the child drifted back into the kitchen saying she wasn't feeling well. Abbie picked her up and ended up holding her until she fell asleep. About thirty minutes after that, Jenny left for the night.

Abbie shifted the child and stood from the table, preparing to go and tuck her in for the night. She almost ran into Ichabod as he was on his way into the kitchen to grab a drink of water. "Sorry," she said eyes still downcast towards the floor.

He looked down at her as she refused to make eye contact with him. He then watched as he proceeded down the hall. He rolled his eyes to himself before mumbling this was ridiculous and following her.

"Leftenant."

""Damn it, Crane," she said as she once again almost jumped out of her skin upon exiting the child's bedroom. "What is your problem? Are you trying to scare me half to death? Can you announce yourself?"

"Well I would but it seems that would only serve to make you hide yourself away," he told her.

She looked up at him momentarily before rolling her eyes and trying to walk away. She hated it when she knew she was bullshitting and someone called her on it.

"Augh, I don't think so," he said placing a large hand on her small waist and bringing her back to stand in front of him. He stepped directly in front of her, preparing to thwart her if she tried to escape again.

"What?" she asked a little confused as to what he was doing.

"We need to talk," he told her. She didn't say anything as she stood in front of him. She looked him up and down, well she stopped at his chest as she still was not willing to meet his eyes. He figured she wouldn't respond, so he continued. "You've been avoiding me," he told her and she tried to interrupt him but he raised his voice to continue his sentence. "Ever since we kissed, you have been avoiding me."

"Crane, we work together every day, how have I been avoiding you?" she said about to make a get a way.

He put his right arm up, blocking her. She huffed and turned back towards him, folding her arms.

"I told you to let it go. We were both dealing with other relationships," she tried to explain to him, but Ichabod was bright, even in this day and age.

"And I told you that that was not what it was," he told her, then had a second thought. "At least from my end."

This made her eyes flicker up towards his as she heard the sadness that had started to creep into his voice. Her first thought was to confirm for him that it wasn't that on her end either because really, who would she be dealing with, Luke? That was laughable. Her eyes quickly darted to the left. "I told you it was nothing."

He leaned forward and placed his left arm on the wall on the other side of her. "Then why can't you look at me?" he asked.

Her eyes once again drifted back towards his. The only thing allowing her to keep eye contact was her anger. She wanted to kiss him again. She wanted to make him drop to his knees then grab his lanky ass and drag him into her bedroom and screw him into oblivion, just to teach him to shut the hell up about the damn kiss. But she couldn't do that. Well she could but she shouldn't. Should she?

She watched as a smile tugged at the corners of his lips, satisfied that he had gotten her to hold eye contact with him for more than five seconds. The smile faltered a little as it seemed he was the one having problems holding eye contact now. His eyes drifted down towards her lips. Her plump, soft pink lips.

She let out a shallow breath as she realized again where this was going, thankfully this time around she had had time to process the warning signals. "I'm going to go to bed," she told him.

"Right," he said standing straight again after realizing that it had almost happened again. He had honestly only wanted to talk. "Of course."

He removed his hands, allowing her to retreat the short distance to her bedroom.

"Oh," she said turning back to face him, "and if you bring up this kiss again. I'm going to kick your ass." She smiled at him and he smiled back, before turning and disappearing behind her bedroom door.

Hopefully the fact that they were now able to joke about it meant that they could start behaving normally around one another. He stood there a few moments before taking up residence on the couch.

* * *

"Why can't we just eat it like it is?" Macey asked Jenny as they poured the cake batter into the pan.

"Because," she told her, "it'll give you a tummy ache. And your mommy will be very upset with me if I let you eat an entire bowl of cake batter."

"Can we bake the cookies after this?" Macey asked her.

"No, the cookies are for another day. Remember, you wanted the cake," Jenn told her. She was babysitting for the night. Macey was staying over at Hawley's boat house with them.

"Can we bake the cookies tomorrow?" Macey asked.

"We can bake the cookies, after we finish eating all of the cake."

"Can we eat all of the cake tonight?" the child asked after her eyes brightened.

Jenny laughed, before poking her side. She saw this one coming from a mile away. "No we can't eat all of the cake tonight."

"Why not?"

"Because it'll give you a tummy ache as well," she informed her.

"We can just take medicine," she replied.

"I don't think so Missy," Jenn said as she placed the pain in the heated oven. "You don't even like taking medicine."

Macey sighed as she got down from the chair to go and look at the cake in the oven. Jenny had turned on the light for her so she could watch it bake while she cleaned up the kitchen and prepared to ice the cake as well as keep Macey from trying to devour the entire jar of icing. But that didn't keep the child's attention for long.

"Where's Uncle Hawley?" she asked.

"He's in the shower."

"Is he about to go to bed? Did you give him an early bed time?"

Jenny laughed as she answered. "No, he has somewhere to go."

"Where is he going?"

"His friend has a business that he's going to open in Yonkers," she answered.

"Where's that?" she asked confused.

"Not too far away from here."

"Can we go with him?"

"No Baby."

"Why not?"

"Because he's going to be working. And we don't want to do work, that won't be fun. So we're going to stay here and eat cake."

"Yaay!"

Jenny smiled hoping she had deterred the child from another one of her questioning sprees. Seriously, this kid could be a lawyer. The criminals would just confess even though her line of questioning was tangential at best and had nothing to do with the crime.

"Guess what Uncle Hawley," Macey said as he walked into the kitchen. She didn't wait for him to answer. "We're going to have cake and you can't have any because you have to go to work." She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Oh is that right," he asked as he scooped the child up and began tickling her, making her promise to save him some cake. He then placed her on the floor, after which the child latched onto his leg.

He managed to walk over to Jenn, Macey standing on top of his foot. "I'm gonna head out. I'll see you later, Babe." They then kissed.

"Ewwww," Macey said looking up at them.

"No eww," Hawley told her.

"But you said never to kiss boys because boys gots cooties. Why are you trying to give Aunt Jenny your cooties?"

Hawley laughed, before looking at Jenny. "I am definitely trying to give Aunt Jenny my cooties," Jenny laughed and poked him in the side, before telling him to stop using sexual innuendos in front of her sister's kid.

"And that's why you shouldn't kiss boys," he confirmed for her. "Because they will try to give you their cooties. And you don't want cooties because cooties are bad."

The child was now lying on the floor looking up at them, her untamed curls spread out around her head. "Was Daddy trying to give Mommy his cooties?" Both Jenny and Hawley's heads snapped down to look at the girl, Hawley's so fast he caught a mild case of whiplash.

"Oww," he said as he took a seat at the table rubbing his neck.

Jenny laughed, telling him he was an idiot, but stayed focused on the child as she bent to pick her up from the floor.

"Why would you think Ichabod was trying to give your Mommy his cooties?" Jenny asked. She already thought she knew the answer, but children didn't necessarily have consistently reliable concept maps. Plus she wanted to throw that Ichabod gem in there. I mean the child would clearly not call anyone else Daddy, but she wanted to confirm things in a way that didn't let on that the child had already said too much.

"Because they kissed," she told them simply.

Jenn and Hawley looked at each other again, a smile coming to both their faces. "When was this?"

"That night she kept making me drink that nasty stuff," was the child's reply.

"Well how long did they kiss for, was it like a peck or was there tongue?" Hawley asked, earning a look from Jenny as he expected a four year old to be able to characterize a kiss.

"I don't know," the child said doing a back bend in Jenny's arms to get a better look at the man.

"See, I told you," Hawley told Jenn with a smile. "I knew it."

They both had seen how strange the two of them had been acting and Hawley had been insistent that something happened between them, but Jenny chose to believe her sister. Silly her. She would never make that mistake again when it came to the revolutionary captain.

* * *

"Was she any trouble?" Abbie asked as she finished putting the rest of Macey's things in her trunk.

"Nope, not at all," Jenny said with a knowing smile on her face.

"We may go down to the pier later for dinner, if you guys wanna come," Abbie invited.

"We'll think about it," she replied shrugging her shoulders. "Is Ichabod going to be there?"

This caused Abbie to look up at her as she closed the trunk of her car. Something in the woman's voice had changed upon mentioning Ichabod's name. She couldn't help the smile that came to her face. Clearly Jenny was going somewhere with this, she just didn't know that the woman had some dirt on her this time around.

"Probably," Abbie told her. "Why?"

"Just didn't want to interrupt your make out session that's all," Jenny smiled as she pulled the sweater tighter around her.

The smile on Abbie's face quickly turned into a look of horror. She just stared at Jenny.

"Word of warning," she told her older sister, "if you're going to make out with a guy that you're not making out with," she air quoted, "don't let a four year old who can out talk an auctioneer chanter see you do it."

"I…I," Abbie said, still not sure how to go about defending herself. Of course she could go with the Macey is delusional defense, but she could tell that she had already ruined it from the look on Jenny's face.

"And since when does she call Ichabod Daddy?" Jenny asked.

"She doesn't," Abbie responded despondently, still trying to defend herself even though Jenny wasn't attacking anymore. Jenn and Hawley were the last two people she wanted to know about this.

"Well she did last night," Jenn said as she started to walk back towards the boat. "Brrr," she said turning again to face her big sister, a huge smile on her face, "it's getting colder out. We might get some snow later. Good thing you have a bed partner now." The woman then turned away from her, opening her arms to the sky as she began to sing an animated version of Let it Go.

Abbie looked down at the child in the back seat reading one of her word books. She was surprised to hear that Macey had called Ichabod Daddy, well not surprised she figured it was coming sooner or later. She planned to probe it later, but not before teaching the child how to keep her trap shut.

* * *

**A/N: I am by far watching one of the dumbest unscariest scary movies of all times. Please review to make me happier...lol. Seriously, I'm just going to stop watching it now. Apparently I had started watching it previously as the netflix bar was like a fifth of the way throughout it when I clicked on it, but I didn't remember it. Now I know why I stopped watching it. New season of OITNB is coming out in a few days, wooot. Question, whatever happened to the old Jamaican lady that killed the dude for rapping one of the little girls that worked for her. I think she went to SHU but I can't remember if she ever came out. Is she still in SHU? Now I have to go back and rewatch seasons 1 and 2, knowing I have things that need to be done. Sigh...Don't forget to leave reviews! I just feel something is off about this, like it's moving to slow or not enough content in the last few chapters or something. Idk...that writer's block/long break really threw me off. **


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: When you want to be asleep but you suffer from random bouts of insomnia...sigh. But good thing is I finished this chapter. Got a little more action in this one. Seriously though do you guys know how much I love sleep. But much like any true love, it can sometimes be elusive. **

* * *

"Com' on Baby," Abbie said as she managed to put the coat on the child that hadn't stopped talking since they had gotten to the gym. "We're gonna be late."

"Can we go get my leo-tards tomorrow?" Abbie smiled to herself at the girls pronunciation of the word. She was saying it correctly it was just that she sounded as if she was breaking it up into two words and putting too much emphasis on the "o".

"Yeah, after you get off from school, but first we gotta make it to your school tonight."

It was the week before the kids would be let out for Christmas break and they were on their way to a parent teacher conference night. Which meant that all the parents were invited to come and tour the classroom to see all the work that had not been taken home during the first half of the school year, speak with the teacher to find out how their kid was doing, and basically allow the kids to run around and play after hours. A few of the kids would also be giving presentations. If she was being honest, she would admit that she had no idea that taking on the responsibilities of raising a kid was this much work. Sure she knew it was a lot of work, but there were hidden responsibility pit falls that didn't come to light until you were actually in the midst of it. Of course she knew parent teacher conferences existed, hell her mother had missed enough of them for her to know that, but it hadn't crossed her mind when she had taken custody of Macey until that flyer came home.

"All squared away then?" Ichabod asked as she closed Macey's door then climbed in the front passenger seat.

"Yup," Abbie replied as Macey started telling Ichabod about her new gym where she was going to start taking Gymnastics classes. The child had taken an extreme interest after she and Jenny had watched the World Championships on youtube. Then she had started making them pull up more videos and started trying to do flips and other things around the house which caused Abbie's heart to drop every time she thought the child would break something. So they had decided that maybe it would be a good idea to let the child work out her interests in a more supervised environment with professionals that were trained to teach her to do it safely.

"Slowly," Abbie commanded as Ichabod shifted the car into drive, seemingly ready to speed off.

He only gave her a look before pulling out of the parking lot slowly.

* * *

"Hmm," Abbie said as she looked at some of Macey's artwork, "these are actually pretty good for her age."

She looked up at Ichabod through her eyelashes as he surveyed some of the other art from her classmates. "I should say so indeed," he stated. "I cannot make heads nor tails of what these children were trying to draw but never the less these images are quite ghastly."

She laughed, as she looked around making sure none of the other parents had heard them. Honestly Macey could have accidently wasted paint on a paper and he would deem it a master piece. It seemed that after all the work that she had put in trying to get the man to quell his pompousness that Macey would be the one to effectively teach him the lesson about pulling punches. She had brought home a picture she had painted for him once and he had looked at it oddly asking what it was. She had replied that it was an elephant, a giraffe and a momma duck with a whole bunch of baby ducks. Why the child had decided to put them all in the same drawing, she still didn't know but that was another discussion. The child's mood had grown somber as she registered the look on his face and countered with a sad, "You don't like it?" To which he had thankfully caught the social cues and claimed that he loved it. Abbie had thought he was only placating her but she had seen the picture attached to the wall next to his desk in the archives the following day. It didn't take him long to learn that praising the child made her happy which made him even happier. As the weeks went by, she could tell that he actually did start to fall in love with everything the child did and felt she could do no wrong, which was becoming a problem as he was starting to spoil her. He soon learned that they both got into trouble though if he did not correct her when she was obviously doing something wrong. So he had tried to find a balance, though he still had to let her know that he did not like chastising her, but that it was for her own good.

They continued to look at the other arts and crafts that their daughter had produced. Each of them having some side conversations with some of the other parents every now and then, Abbie taking a break to locate their little one in the chaos that the children seemed to have created as they ran around the room playing, some of their parents obviously already knowing each other as they seemed to be catching up on some conversation. That made her think, "We really need to make an effort to get more involved," she mumbled to herself.

"I'm sorry, what was that Leftenant?" he asked her causing her to face him again.

"Oh, nothing," she said, surprised that he had heard her. She eyed him as he seemed to have left the art alone and had started to observe some of the toys. She had wanted to bring up the whole Daddy thing to him, but Macey had never said it in front of him, but she figured it was only a matter of time before the child sprang it on him as she did with her.

"They're called jacks," she told him picking up the small ball. "They go with this. I'll teach you how to play one day."

"These hardly look like toys children should be playing with. They resemble torcher devices more than anything. Look at how pointy they are," he told her holding one up.

"These," she said taking it from him, "actually aren't that bad. They're plastic," she poked him with it, so he could see that they weren't really as harmful as they seemed. "The sets Jenny and I had when we were little, now those things were dangerous. They were metal, and one lone one would always seem to end up where it shouldn't have been. You fall on one of those things, you were lucky you didn't walk away with a hole in your skin."

He only raised an eyebrow as he sat the jacks down and continued to look at the other toys. She decided to broach the subject since there weren't really any other parents in the nearby vicinity.

"So Jenny told me that when she was babysitting the other day," she paused, "Macey called you 'Daddy'."

His long fingers stopped abruptly at one of the trolls. She surveyed him for his reaction. His other eyebrow rose as he looked at her out of the corner of his eyes. But only smiled and responded with a thoughtful, "Hmm." So she continued.

"You think you're ready for that?" she asked him, still staring him down.

Ichabod had learned something that he didn't think possible since they had gotten Macey. Abbie could be even more obsessed and protective than she was with Jenny, Joey, and himself. And that was saying something. She could be downright scary when she became what Jenny called 'Mama Bear'. Thankfully she only got that way on rare occasions. Like that night at the restaurant, or when a little boy pushed the child down on the playground. Abbie had actually been nice to the child and tried to explain to him why it wasn't nice to push people or do anything to them that he wouldn't want them to do to him, but the kid's dad had showed up and basically went to the 'don't correct my kid' argument. To which Abbie had gotten into it with him and told him that it was no wonder the kid was being a bully, he was being raised by an asshole and that it was fine if he didn't want to raise his kid and didn't want anyone else to raise him but that if the kid pushed her kid again she was going to find that kid's daddy, which was the guy, and kick his ass. Thankfully he and Jenny had been there to pull her away from the situation. Yeah, she could sometimes get a little scary.

He actually saw two sides to that mama bear. The side that came out paws a blazing, and the side that built up a steal fortress around her kid, which he saw a little bit of the night at the restaurant also. And right now she was looking at him ready to go into construction mode.

"Had I not been ready for this, I wouldn't have signed the papers, now would I?" he questioned turning his entire body to face her.

She was going to respond but Macey ran up to them grabbing her hand. "Mommy, Mommy, look. It's a baby. Cassie's mommy's gots a baby."

She looked up to see a brunette woman walking up to them, holding a pudgy little baby that looked to be no older than six months old.

The woman smiled as she held out her hand, "Hi, I'm Courtney."

"Abbie," she introduced herself than turned to Ichabod but found him to be looking into a view master, completely unaware that the woman, or she for that matter, was there. "This," she said pointing at him and turning back to the woman, "is Ichabod."

The woman laughed at her facial expression before replying, "Don't worry. My husband's the same way. I'm sure yours and mine would get along great."

"Oh no, we're not married," Abbie told her, then immediately regretted it. Normally she would just let people make assumptions without corrections because one, it was none of their business and two, she didn't want to have the long discussion and answer questions. The woman didn't seem to care either way though.

"Oh. Well at least you're still able to co-parent together."

Abbie smiled at her before looking down at the baby, who was smiling down at the two four year olds playing with her feet.

"Who's this little cutie?" she asked.

"This is Chrissy," the woman told her before frowning. "I know with the C's, but I'm a C my husband's name is Chris and we really thought she was going to be a boy so we just went ahead and named her Christina. I'm ashamed of it, I know."

Abbie only laughed as she stroked the baby's hand.

"Mommy Cassie's Mommy gots a baby so Cassie can play with her when she gets bigger. Can we get a baby so I can play with her?" Macey spewed with reckless abandon.

Abbie felt her facial expression change as she looked down at the child panicked, trying to think of a nice way to tell her no because, no…and she knew then she would have to explain why.

The woman laughed at Abbie's response or lack of, before deciding to save the woman, informing Macey that she could come and play with Chrissy and Cassie anytime she wanted to.

* * *

"Wow you really have your hands full with those two huh?" Allison, Macey's teacher, laughed as she walked them out. Ichabod was walking to the car holding Macey as they sang Lock Hospital together, Macey trying to mimic Ichabod's baritone and holding her arms out exaggeratedly as Ichabod encouraged her and they grew louder with each line.

"Oh, you have no idea," Abbie laughed, before thanking the teacher before going to join them in the car.

She was happy to see a yawn from the child as she climbed into the car, but she encouraged her to stay awake. She still needed a bath. If she didn't get a bath before she put her to bed it would drive Abbie crazy. So she and Ichabod took turns reaching into the back seat engaging her and reminding her that she needed to stay awake until she got home.

When they arrived at Abbie's duplex, Jenny was already there as she had come to drop of a package she had picked up for Abbie. She managed to get the child bathe and into her pajamas. She walked back into the living room, Macey on her hip ready to deposit the child on the couch with Ichabod, but she found Jenny standing in the front door looking through the screen and Ichabod stepping out of the front door.

"What's going on?" she asked allowing the child to slip from her hip and onto the couch.

Jenny turned to face her with a concerned look on her face. "It's Katrina and Henry."

"What?" she asked in disbelief. She took a step before turning back to Macey. "Stay here," she made eye contact with the child before walking out of the door behind him.

"What's going on?" she asked as she stood next to him on the porch.

"I don't know," he said as he stepped off of the porch leaving her standing there. She figured she'd stay behind in case so they wouldn't be an easy, two birds with one stone target.

He approached them cautiously, looking back and forth between the both of them. He didn't know why they were there, but it could have been a chance that it was personal, and he didn't want to pull anyone else into it. As Abbie had warned, she didn't want to be pulled into anymore of his family drama.

"We don't want to hurt anyone, Ichabod," Katrina said in a tone that let them know despite her words she would be willing to do just that.

"Then you need to get the hell away from my house," Abbie yelled from the porch. She really had tried to stay calm. She had tried so hard, but Katrina just brought it out of her for multiple reasons.

"We have no business with you, trollop," she retorted.

Abbie's brow furrowed as her head turned to the side, again not entirely sure of the meaning but she had heard the word before and if she remembered correctly… "Easy, Sis," Jenny said grabbing her, making Abbie realize she had made it off of the porch.

"You have something of ours," Henry said wanting to get down to business and not really interested in his mother's quarrels with his father's partner.

"Well I assure you if I have it, it is not yours," Ichabod told him.

Henry laughed evilly, "I beg to differ." The smile was suddenly replaced by a scowl. "Give us the coin."

"I suggest the both of you leave right now," he told them.

"Oh Father," Henry started with bitterness, "just give it to us and we will gladly leave you and your new family alone." Okay so maybe he was a little interested in their personal quarrel.

Macey stood with her little hands pressed against the screen watching as her mom, dad and aunt Jenny talked to the mean lady she remembered and some old man. She didn't know what was going on but figured it couldn't be good if that mean lady was there. She gasped as she suddenly saw the mean lady raise her arm towards her father and he started to levitate in the air. The adults continued talking as she looked on in horror. Then the lady twisted her hand causing the man to let out a painful scream. She started to panic, and looked to the two women who attempted to go to his aid, but seemed to not be able to get close enough to him. The lady twisted her hand again, and again her father screamed.

"Daddy!," All of the adults heads whipped towards Abbie's front door as the child came hurdling out of it. "Stop! You're hurting him."

"Macey, No!," Abbie said as she as she started towards the little girl who had just made it down the last step and was making her way towards Ichabod. She had just brushed her finger tips against the child's arm when she suddenly felt like an explosion went off right between them, right where her fingers had met the child's arms. She was thrown backwards and landed with a thud, but right after she landed she heard another soft thud just a few feet away from her.

"No!," Ichabod's screams echoed over Jenny's call for the child. She immediately got to her knees looking for the girl and began crawling towards her when she spotted her.

"Macey!" she yelled, as she saw the child lying in the grass on her side. She quickly turned the child over to reveal wide, terrified eyes staring back at her.

"Mommy," the child replied and you could tell she was a little stunned, but the tears came almost immediately after. She scooped the child up which prompted a cry of, "My arm, my arm!"

She felt Jenny drop down beside her as she pulled the child away from her chest to inspect her better.

"Abbie, her arm's broken," Jenny said noticing the slightly disfigured limb before she did.

Ichabod looked on relieved at hearing the child's cry. She didn't move when she first hit the grass and he had feared the worst. He started towards them but again felt control of his body being seized from him.

"Give us the doubloon and we will leave them be," he heard Henry say as he was turned mid-air to find Katrina's left arm aimed at him but her right was aimed at the three people in the yard.

Suddenly there was a pair of bright lights and tires screeching. Henry and Katrina turned to their left to see a car coming straight for them. They dove out of the way just in time as Hawley drove his car onto the curb, having seen what was happening.

"Hurry, get inside," Abbie heard from behind them and turned to see the elderly woman that lived in the duplex next door to her with her door open and motioning for them to come into her house. She scooped Macey up and ran for the door, Jenny stood preparing to do the same but not before calling for Ichabod and telling Hawley to get his ass out of the car as Katrina and Henry were recovering quickly.

"I wanted to hit the fuckers," Hawley spat as he made it into the house.

"Close the door," the old woman ordered them, and Jenny did as she was told.

"Is she okay?" Ichabod asked as he made his way over to Abbie whose face matched Macey's as tears were streaming down both their faces.

"I don't know," she told him. "Her arm is broken."

"Daddy it hurts," the child sobbed.

"It's okay love," he said stroking the child's hair, trying to soothe her. "We have to get her to a hospital?" he said.

"We can't go back out there right now," Jenny pointed out. "We don't have anything to defend ourselves with."

"We'll be safe in here for now," the older lady said causing everyone to turn to her. "I figured sooner or later something like this would show up at my door step or very close to it. I sealed the house. We're protected."

Her point was proven as they heard Katrina yell, "Give it to us." Followed by what sounded like it was going to be a knock only with a lot more commotion. Jenny and Hawley went over to the window to see that it was now the two evil minions' turn to be blasted by magic. They had gone through the bannister and lay in the grass. They watched still as Katrina got up and walked over to Henry to make sure that he was okay. They discussed shortly before looking back at the house, rising from the grass and seemingly disappearing into some kind of portal.

* * *

**A/N: Yup, bit of a cliff hanger but no really. Sorry. Next chapter we'll be getting a little more touchy-feels with Ichabbie. And that wasn't Abbie's anger towards Katrina so much as it was mine. I don't think Abbie would be as petty, but that's okay. I've got enough for the both of us lol. DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW.**


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Not as long as I wanted but I'm starting to get blocky again. I hate this. That's why I took a break from writing the last time. I think I'm just too stressed out. I need a break from my job. Ughh...I should have never grown up. I should've just stayed a kid (hangs head and kicks rocks). If there are any teenagers reading this, don't listen to them, its a trap, don't grow up. Anyways, here's the next chapter, short-er.

* * *

He watched her as she paced back and forth slowly, absentmindedly staring at the floor while biting on her fingernail. He had never seen her this worried, and he felt awful about it. After Katrina and Henry had disappeared, they rushed Macey to the hospital. The doctors had taken xrays to confirm what they all knew. The arm was broken but they needed to see just how bad. Thankfully the child didn't need surgery, but she did need to be sedated while the bones were reset and the cast was put on, which was why Abbie was currently wearing a hole and the waiting room floor. They had allowed them to stay with her until the sedating medication had taken place since she had been so upset upon coming to the hospital. Now they were in the back casting her.

He watched still as Abbie paused and folded her arms, rubbing at the elbows of his coat. He had offered it to her after seeing that she had left the house without hers. He had wrapped it around her shoulders as she had carried Macey into the emergency room and had refused to take it back when she had offered it back to him. She seemed to be in deep thought before she sighed and began pacing again.

"Abbie," Jenny asked calling the woman's attention to her. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she nodded.

"Why don't you sit down and try to relax a little," Hawley tried. "Little Bit is going to be okay."

"I'm fine," Abbie waved them off, as she started pacing again.

Ichabod looked on as Jen and Hawley shared a look. He watched her pace for a few more seconds before he stood up and walked over to her. He stepped up behind her just as she turned to pace back the other way as she had met a corner.

She looked him up and down before asking, "What?"

"Are you okay?" He asked, staring her down.

She looked up at him and hesitated before replying. "Yeah, I'm good."

He continued staring at her with a knowing look.

"I'm just worried about her that's all?" she said motioning towards the door that led to the treatment rooms. She then turned to face it, "I wonder what's taking them so long?"

"Leftenant," he said calling her attention back to him.

She looked up at him noticing that his look had intensified. She looked at him, really looked at him for the first time since all of this had happened. His eyes were red, though she had not seen him cry she could tell that he had been close at some point during the night, but rather it was from anger or worry she didn't know. She could practically see the stress lines forming on his forehead.

"You have every right to be angry with me and I know my apologies will not change the events of the night, but you must know that I meant for none of this to happen," her brows furrowed at his words. "I truly am sorry."

She continued to stare at him, a new sense of sadness overcoming her. It was bad enough that she felt guilty about what had happened to Macey, she couldn't handle him going through the same emotions that she was currently going through. She had played the events from earlier over and over in her head, if she had only stayed in the house with the child or been a little faster in grabbing her, their daughter would be tucked safely in her bed instead of laying on a table in the hospital being injected with sedatives and having her bones manipulated back into place. She was used to being the strong one, and often wanted to shoulder the weight of guilt and sadness if only to allow everyone else to be free of it. In her mind she could handle it, they couldn't.

"Ichabod," she said placing a hand on his arm, "this wasn't your fault."

"I'm afraid that it was," he told her. "If it had not been…,"

"No," she told him, refusing to let him finish the thought, "this isn't your fault. This was all Katrina and Henry. So stop blaming yourself for what they did. You can't control what other people do."

He nodded, accepting her comforting words, but still feeling guilty. "Either way," he told her, "I promise that I will not let Katrina nor Henry bring harm to either one of you again. That you have my word on."

She was about to respond and tell him that he couldn't promise that. Macey, maybe, but not her. Not when she was in the middle of the fight with him. But she let him have those words, for his sake, and even though she knew he wouldn't be likely to keep the promise; the gesture was comforting to her in ways she wouldn't dare confess to anyone. Before they could continue , the nurse stepped out into the waiting room calling them into the back to sit with the child while they got the discharge instructions and papers together, only he and Abbie were allowed back.

When the entered the room, there was a nurse in the room with the child to keep her from falling off of the table as she was awake, but pretty out of it. She was also crying softly.

"Aww, what's wrong Bug," Abbie said immediately going over to her, pulling up the sleeves of the coat to free her hands in order to pick the child up.

"He gave it to the dog down the street," the child whined as she wrapped her arms around Abbie's neck.

Abbie threw Ichabod a look before turning her attentions back to the child.

"Who gave it to him?" she asked.

"Paddyton."

This time Abbie looked at the nurse, who laughed. "She's been talking out of her head since she woke up. She just needs a good night's rest and she'll be fine. The medicine should wear completely off in a couple of hours." Abbie nodded and continued to ask questions to the girl only to reveal that she was upset because Paddington gave Lily's, one of her baby dolls, head band to Lacey, the dog down the street, and she broke it. Which the last part may or may not have happened, but since Amanda's mom hadn't mentioned anything about their dog pooping pink plastic, she decided that it was probably a dream the girl had had since Paddington would absolutely due no such thing unless he was just the fall guy. At least they had a good laugh about it. Macey was having a dream, but at least it wasn't as bad as it could be given the events of the night.

* * *

Abbie stepped out of her bathroom and into her bedroom and sighed heavily. On nights like tonight, she was really happy she spent the extra money for the Queen sized bed instead of just going for the Full because here she was again sharing her bed with a four year old who slept horribly and her lanky partner whose limbs could still easily span the width of the bed.

After arriving home from the hospital she had managed to convince Jenny and Hawley that they would be fine and they had reluctantly left. She had then spent the next five minutes on her porch talking to her neighbor, a woman whom she had shared conversations with but never really talked about anything with depth to it. She had however agreed to go over to the woman's house the next day to talk with her. The lady had been concerned about Macey and had only wanted to make sure that she was okay before turning in for the night.

When they had finally gone inside Macey, as expected, had refused to be left alone so Abbie didn't even attempt to get her to sleep in her room as she herself also wasn't too keen on the idea of letting the child out of her sight anytime soon. Unfortunately, Macey had felt the same about both her and Ichabod. So here they were sharing a bed again, which seemed a little more weird than the previous time, probably due to that kiss, but she wouldn't think about that now.

Well, one good thing was that Macey had fallen asleep already. The bad part for Ichabod was the child was lying across his chest.

Abbie smiled as she pulled back the covers and climbed into her bed. "I can move her if you want," she offered.

"No, please," he declined. "Let her sleep."

Abbie looked them over. He seemed to be in a pretty comfortable spot, and Macey was sleeping so peacefully, which was a welcomed sight after witnessing her frantic state for most of the night.

"If you say so," she told him. She then leaned over and pushed the child's hair out of her face before pausing and staring at her, "I am so sorry for tonight, but I promise you I'm not going to let them hurt you again," Ichabod looked on at his partner's exchange with the sleeping girl lying on his chest. He had been trying to ignore how attractive he found his partner, but she was making it difficult as her body was hovering right over his as she said her good-nights to the child, doing that Mommy thing which he found so attractive on her. The shirt she had falling slightly off of her should exposing the smooth skin of her collarbone and God, why did the woman smell like she lived most of her life in a bakery. He could feel his heart rate speed up and had to remind himself that their daughter was there with them. "I love you so much Baby," she said before giving the child a kiss on the nose. She smiled as she saw the girl crinkle her nose. "Goodnight."

Abbie started to pull away from Macey, but was met with a pair of piercing blue eyes making the smile that had been on her face disappear. Her mouth fell open as their faces were mere inches apart and she felt frozen in space. She watched as his eyes drifted down to her mouth, lingering there for a while before meeting her eyes again. She tried to move, but her limbs had gone weak, and seeing that she was on all fours essentially that didn't bode well for her moving effectively on the soft surface of her mattress. She fell forward onto the half of Ichabod's chest that wasn't occupied by Macey, bringing their faces even closer together. His arm came up instinctively to wrap around her back, holding her in place. Not that she was trying to move, but she did catch the wince that crossed his face as her body came into contact with his.

"Sorry," she said softly. "You should have let the doctor check that out."

She sat back on her hunches, preparing to inspect him.

"Abbie, I'm fine," he told her, but she ignored him as she pulled the left side of his shirt up a little to inspect the bruise that had been left their by whatever Katrina had done to him.

"Well the purple and black bruise on your rib cage says otherwise," she informed him, as she ghosted her fingers across the discoloration.

He exhaled shakily as her fingers continued to guide over his abdomen and chest, looking up at the ceiling and trying to contain himself. He let her continue for a few more seconds before seizing her wrist. He needed her to stop, unless he would end up touching her and it wouldn't be nearly as innocent. She looked up at him and immediately read the look in his eyes. "Sorry," she apologized. Her eyes darted back to the lean muscle that lay under his pale skin and she resisted the urge to reach out her hand again.

She pulled his shirt back down and reached over to put out the lamp on her night stand. He had taken a moment to recover from what had just happened and stretched out his left arm, letting out a frustrated breath. Abbie must not have seen his arm in the dark, because she laid down on his arm. He felt her stiffen for a moment before she relaxed again and scooted back into him. His eyes widened as he realized what she had done and his head turned towards her.

She felt him move behind her and she could feel him staring a hole into the back of her head. She closed her eyes tight, fearing what his reaction might be. She half expected him to politely ask to retrieve his arm from under her and half expected him to just pull it suddenly away from her. She didn't know what had made her move closer to him. It was a spontaneous move which she was starting to regret. She had wanted to be closer to him but she was starting to fear the rejection from it now.

After seeing that his Leftenant wasn't going to turn to face him, he turned his eyes back to the ceiling contemplating what she had done. He didn't know why she had done it. They had all been in danger tonight maybe she was just reacting to her fear of losing him, or maybe it was whatever it had been that had made her kiss him back that night or maybe it was something else. He decided not to overthink it. Instead he just adjusted his arm pressing his hand to her stomach before pulling her against his side, adjusting his long limb to lay horizontally around her torso. He initially feared the gesture had been too intimate, but those fears were put to rest as she just lifted her head, resting it on his shoulder.

He again turned to her, pressing his nose into her hair and closing his eyes, reveling in the feel of her body against his. He inhaled deeply before whispering a, "Goodnight Abigail."

"G'night, Ichabod," she replied.

* * *

It was a few hours later when Ichabod opened his eyes again and realized that he was mostly pinned down. He looked down at the little girl and the woman sharing his chest as their own personal pillow and smiled to himself. The elation didn't last long though as Macey shifted, resting her knee on his bruise. He tried to move to adjust her, but realized that it would be best if he could move a little to readjust where her little knee was poking into his body. He shifted his hips with little success, scooting himself and Abbie over a little bit. He continued to try to adjust, trying not to wake either of them in the process. Abbie however, felt his movements and woke up.

She sighed and turned in his arms, as her eyes blinked open and she stared up at him.

"What are you doing?" she asked sleepily.

"I am sorry to have woken you," he apologized, "but her knee seems to be in a least optimal position."

Abbie sighed and lifted her head a little to figure out what he was talking about, and saw the child's knee. She pushed the girls knee down gently, which caused the child to turn and shift some, rolling off of Ichabod's chest but still safely secured between his body and his arm, leaving his chest all for Abbie.

He expected Abbie to roll away from him since the moment that had made her cuddle up to him had passed, but she only dropped her head back onto his chest.

"Now go back to sleep," she said slurring her words as the sound of his heartbeat was already lulling her back to sleep.

He looked down at her and saw that she was positioned with her face slightly upturned to nuzzle her face into the crook of his neck, which brought her lips fairly close to his when he looked down at her. He laid his head back again and looked up at the ceiling. This was going to be a long night.

* * *

A/N: ...pouting... Guess I'll get in the bed since I got work tomorrow. Oh, also if you are Olake shippers this is their appreciation week on tumblr and other social media sites so if you have accounts participate.


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: (Sneaks in and leaves this)...

* * *

Abbie smiled as she watched the scene from the entryway to the kitchen. Ichabod was on the floor lying on his stomach, pinned under Jenny who had his arms pinned to his sides with her knees as Macey tried to find his tickle spot.

"Leftenant," he started as he spotted her smiling from the other end of the room, "do not just stand there help me."

Abbie just tilted her head before replying, "Ahn, you're a big boy. I'm sure if you really wanted to get up, you could."

She was just happy to see the child playing again. They had spent the entire day trying to get the girl to perk up but nothing worked. She just sat around sad and moping, only wanting to lay in either her or Ichabod's arms as she watched television. It was clear the events of the night before had affected her more than physically and it crushed Abbie to not see her running around being her usual happy, rambunctious, though sometimes mischievous self. Thankfully, Jenn and Hawley had come over and after several unsuccessful attempts at trying to get the girl to play, struck goal with tickle wars. So she was overjoyed to see a spark of light in the child.

"I assure you, if I could, I would," he was interrupted by Macey.

"Right here," she said grinning as she tried a new spot on his side.

"I have told you that I am not ticklish," he told her. "Now would you please tell your Aunt Jenny to get off of me."

"What'd ya think Mace?" Jenny asked her. "Maybe he's really not ticklish."

"Try under his chin, Baby," Abbie said causally as she walked to the door to answer it after hearing the

doorbell.

Ichabod looked up at her in disbelief and betrayal as she walked by and then saw a spark in Macey's eyes. "Don't you dare," he tried to dissuade her, but none the less her little fingers met with the skin under his chin.

He tried to hold in the laugh but, was unable to hold it in. He did however in the process manage to break free of Jenny's hold, grabbing Macey and beginning a tickle attack on her to which the child giggled uncontrollably. Jenny was going to help her partner in crime but the child seemed to be enjoying herself too much.

"Daddy stooooopp!," she yelled through her giggles, causing Ichabod's smile to widen but he continued to tickle her.

"Not until you promise not to ever help Jenny beat me in tickle wars again," he said looking down at her as he was cradling her in one arm and using the other to tickle her.

"Okay, I prooomisse!," she laughed. "I gotta potty."

This caused Jenny and Ichabod to laugh. He promptly put the girl down, still giggling a little. She immediately took off for the bathroom.

Abbie opened the door expecting to see almost anyone besides the person who was actually standing there.

"Luke," she said, her surprise showing in her voice. "What are you doing here?"

He smiled at her. "Hi to you too."

"I, uhm," she started realizing that she may have come across somewhat rude. "I'm sorry. I just… I wasn't expecting you."

"Yeah, sorry I would've called, but you haven't really been returning my phone calls," he told her with a sad smile.

She was going to say that she had been busy or some other excuse, but they both knew that it was a lie before she even formed the sentence in her head, so she saw no reason to let it come out of her mouth. She looked up at him through her eyelashes, wanting to apologize, but not wanting to embarrass him anymore because there was an unspoken air of embarrassment among them. On both their parts as she was still a little embarrassed about kicking him out the other night and not calling him back. Thankfully, he decided to continue talking.

"I heard there was a bit of a commotion over this way last night," he explained his presence. "Word at the station is that it was here."

She took in a deep breath and exhaled. "Word at the station would be correct."

His facial expression grew a little more serious. "Are you okay? Anyone got hurt?"

She sighed, "Unfortunately," she said. She was going to explain to him that her baby had gotten hurt, but was interrupted by the little old lady from next door.

"Excuse me," she said in a somewhat fragile sounding voice. "Would now be a good time to talk?"

"Uh, yeah. Sure," she said moving aside to allow the little old lady entrance. "Com'on in. My sister is in the living room, make yourself at home. I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Take your time," the lady told her as she made her way down the short hallway and into the living room.

Abbie turned back to Luke, eyeing him, wondering how and if she should end this interaction right now.

"Who's she?" he asked, with a concerned look on his face.

She cocked her head to the side as she continued to debate with herself. "Why don't you com'on in too," she told him as she again moved aside and invited him to enter. She figured he could be an ally. And he would probably find out about this sooner or later. She decided that she preferred it was not at a moment when his life was in immediate danger.

She and Luke walked into her living room just as Jenny and Mrs. Artigas were stepping into the kitchen. She was met by an unexpected. "What is he doing here?"

All heads in the room whipped to Ichabod as he stood with his eyes on Luke. Abby gave him a look of surprise that quickly turned into a threatening look of be nice or else. Ichabod had a way of becoming a child at some of the most inconvenient times. She figured it was due to him being used to getting his way due to his socioeconomic status as well as his racial-gender status back in his first life. Though she was staring Ichabod down, she didn't miss the way that Macey was looking back and forth between Ichabod and her and Luke. The child quietly walked over to Ichabod and placed her hand in his, her stuffed bear tucked under her bright yellow cast. She looked up at Abbie, helplessly.

She wasn't sure what was going on but she didn't like this three way dynamic between the adults. Every time this guy showed up, for some reason or another her parents ended up angry, and the last time he started coming by her daddy ended up not being around as much. She didn't want her daddy to leave again, which was why she held onto his hand. She wanted her mother to fix this.

After she felt she had effectively relayed her message to Ichabod, Abbie's eyes drifted over to her sister who happened to turn her way at the same time. Their eyes locked, and a mischievous smile slowly formed on the younger sister's face. Abbie looked down at the floor knowing that the situation was awkward and that she was in the middle of it.

"Com'on let's get you something to drink," Jenny said as she put her hand on the Mrs. Artigas' back. "You like tea or hot chocolate. "

Abbie sighed and headed towards the kitchen, stopping half way to collect her daughter. "Com'on baby," she said as she reached her hand for Macey.

The girl hesitated. She knew her mother wasn't going to leave her, so she figured if she stuck with her father then they would all stay together and her dad wouldn't have to leave again. She looked back up at Ichabod.

Abbie's brow furrowed. "Mace ,com'on. You wanna go get some hot chocolate?" The girl perked up at the mention of hot chocolate and Abbie thought she was about to let go of Ichabod's hand and take hers but the child caught herself.

"Come Daddy," she said tugging on his hand. "Let's go get some hot chocolate."

She tugged on the man's hand a few more times until he stepped forward and began following her and Abbie into the kitchen.

"Leftenant, what is he doing here?" Ichabod whispered harshly. He had gotten the message loud and clear from Abbie not to start anything but he still wanted his question answered.

The only thing he got in response was a "Shut up and act like an adult," as Abbie stopped to scoop Macey up.

"But Left," he was cut off, and he couldn't help the deep furrow of his brow and the confusion as he tried to figure out what the severely shorter woman was doing to his face.

"No," she said as her index finger came to rest vertically across his lips, her thumb and middle finger on either of his jaws, her ring finger under his chin. She had basically muzzled him with her hand. His eyes crossed as he looked down at the finger sticking up between his nose. He then looked at the child on her hip and the little girl was looking at him as if he was in trouble, but she wanted to laugh. His eyes flicked back to Abbie's. "You are not going to start this right now," she whispered. "We are going to go in here and sit down and talk to Mrs. Artigas so we can find out what she knows about this mission. Luke is going to stay and we are going to explain to him what is going on. Maybe he can help us some kind of way because we need all the help we can get at this point. And you are going to put your big boy pants on and sit there and behave like an adult." She gave him a look letting him know that it was not a request.

She took her hand down from his mouth, slowly.

"Well alright, but I still do not understand why he has to be here," he added. She rolled her eyes as she turned around to meet Jenny who was still smiling at her and Mrs. Artigas. She turned to the woman and put a smile on her face as she apologized for the lack of attention she had paid to the matter on which she had come to discuss. Soon Luke joined them in the kitchen, Jenny had cranked out a few mugs of hot chocolate and they were all sitting around the kitchen table talking.

The older lady started off by telling them about her roots back in Cuba and how her great grandmother used to tell her these stories. Stories that sounded a lot like the stories Ichabod and Abbie had recently been reading about themselves. She then recounted how her grandmother told her that she had a gift, a gift that had been passed down in their family. She had then started to teach her, much to the disliking of her mother, how to create potions and cast spells using plants and other magical things found in nature. She wasn't the type of witch that could just conger up magic out of thin air, no she wasn't a magical being per se. But she had had the ability to use the world around her in order to help and protect people from the evil that plague the world and the evil that she had always been warned would again attempt to seize the earth and bring her to her demise.

They had then taken the time to catch Luke up on what all had been happening. He had been pretty skeptical but had decided to stay and listen and go along with what they were saying. Jenny had told him she knew that what they were saying was hard to believe but he would definitely see proof of it, probably sooner rather than later since they had brought him into their circle.

They had then taken the time to catch Mrs. Artigas up on what exactly they had been working on and what all had happened since they figured out their role in all of this. They had then compared notes on what each side knew to be true to see if they could get some new insight on what they were supposed to do or what was to happen next.

Abbie had taken a time out to set Macey in front of the television with Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium playing on the television when they had started to delve into the scary stuff. All in all the meeting had gone well. They had had two new allies, Luke who could keep an eye out and help do some of the ground work and Mrs. Artigas a new knowledge and magical base that could help them with some of the stuff that they weren't all that familiar with. Minus Macey's broken arm, the last twenty four hours had been quite productive and progressive for them.

Mrs. Artigas excused herself shortly before nightfall. She said she wanted to go back and brush up on some of her magic and spells just in case she could help in some way. Jenny had tried to stay until Luke left, but he seemed to purposefully be hanging around to piss Ichabod off and she had more important things to do than to get herself tangled up in her sister's sexless love triangle. Really, what was the point in that if no one was getting sex. Ridiculous, she thought.

After Jenny left, Abbie saw things growing tense between Ichabod and Luke again, so she asked Ichabod to go and help Macey bath and get her ready for bed. He rolled his eyes, because that's what he did, before exiting down the hall with the child at his heel.

Abbie stayed in the living room with Luke, just watching television and having friendly conversation. Thankfully she had been able to stir clear of the subject of him and her but she figured that was because he still seemed to have a lot of unanswered questions about what had been going on in sleepy hollow for the last couple of years. Soon, Ichabod returned with Macey, because of course he wasn't just going to get the child settled into bed and leave her to be like the adult that she was.

Thankfully, Luke soon decided to leave as it was getting late. By that time Macey had already fallen asleep in Ichabod's arms. Abbie locked the door behind Luke and walked back into her living room preparing to take a shower and get in bed because she was exhausted. Sure she hadn't left the house today, but she hadn't gotten much rest the night before due to their late night at the hospital, Ichabod fidgeting in his sleep and Macey waking up from a nightmare. Then she had been busy with visitors all day today, so yeah, she was tired.

"I still do not understand why he had to be here," Ichabod said as she stepped back into the living room.

She took a deep breath and rubbed the tip of her finger tips up her nose and onto her forehead and closed her eyes as if she was trying to massage out an oncoming headache. She let her fingers continue to run through her bangs pushing the hair back out of her face before opening her eyes again to face her partner. "Well maybe it wasn't for you to understand," she told him. "You ever think of that." She then headed for the hallway that housed her bedroom and a bathroom with a hot shower waiting for her.

Ichabod didn't like this. He didn't like it at all. Abbie was becoming friends with Luke again and he knew all too well Luke's intentions and he also knew from past experiences that Abbie wasn't always in the frame of mind to thwart them. He did not want Luke moving in on his territory, especially since he still hadn't had the chance to figure out his feelings towards her or her towards him.

"Leftenant," he said louder than he would have liked to seeing that he had the child in his arms. He began to ease Macey off of his lap and onto her pillow that was on the sofa that she was supposed to have fallen asleep on. "Leftenant," he repeated softer this time as he got up to follow Abbie, who was ignoring him, down the hallway.

"I think we should talk about this," he said as he entered her bedroom. "This is my mission too you know." She went into her bathroom and closed the door behind her, just to put another barrier between them.

She began to strip out of her clothes, rolling her eyes as he went on about how he should get a vote on rather or not Luke got to join the team since he would have to work with him as well and how he didn't think it was a good idea. She slipped on her silk knee length robe, tied the belt around her waist and forcefully pulled the door open coming face to face with him.

"Okay, why don't you want to work with him?" she asked with one hand on the bathroom door and the other on her hip.

He was stunned for a moment by the lack of clothing she had on. He figured at most, the only thing she had on under the robe was her undergarments. He gave her a look as if she had just launched a full scale attack on him.

"Leftenant," he said forcing his eyes to go back up to her face. "I think it would be best for both our sakes if you would dress in more appropriate attire while we have this conversation."

Her eyes squinted. All she had been trying to do was take a shower and get in bed. That was all. He was the one that took it upon himself to follow her into her bedroom and now he wanted to lecture her on what she had on.

"Get out of the way," she said she pushed by him to get a sleep shirt out of one of her drawers. "You have no valid reason what so ever to not want Luke working with us. Other than your male ego that feels threatened whenever he's around. And only god knows why that is," she said as she threw her head back and closed her eyes. She let her head loll to the side and opened her eyes to look at him again. "I'm not even going to touch that."

Ichabod looked at her. He was growing angry with her. She knew damn well why he didn't like Luke being around. It was because she entertained his advances while she wouldn't even discuss a kiss with him, after he had made it clear that there was something more from it on his part. Not to mention he didn't miss Luke trying to become friends with his little girl during the time Abbie had barred him from her home. Thankfully unlike her mother, Macey didn't seem to be interested in the man as a friend or otherwise. So Luke had had his replacement step father attempt sufficiently blocked by the four year old. He wondered how Macey could read Luke, but her mother seemed intent on ignoring his real intentions. And she still hadn't put any got damn clothes on.

She made it back for the bathroom but he blocked the entrance. "We are going to talk about this," he told her. She sighed and looked up at him waiting for him to start talking.

He wanted to talk to her, he really did. But he was finding it hard to focus especially since she was standing so close to him. He looked down at her, his eyes skipping away from her face for one second, but allowing him to get a full view of her cleavage due to their height discrepancy. His eyes quickly darted back to her face as if she had caught him staring, but she was none the wiser of the view their position afforded him. He tried his best to stay focused on her face but he was sure he was trying too hard as he felt the strain on his face and elsewhere.

She gave him a strange look as he looked as if someone had just kicked him in the balls. "Perhaps you should go and take your shower," he said as he tried to move out of her day.

"What?" she asked as she turned to see him heading for her bedroom door. "Whoa, whoa, wait a minute." She jumped in front of him. She thought he was trying to get out of her initial question. "No you were right. Let's talk about this now. You give me one good reason why we shouldn't work with Luke and we won't work with him."

She knew he didn't have a good reason, so she knew this was her chance to win this argument and end it once and for all. Then she could go to sleep and not have to have this discussion again.

He looked at her, his eyes again drifting down to her cleavage. This time he let his eyes linger a second before popping back up to her face. He didn't seem so embarrassed anymore. After all, he had tried to leave the situation. She was the one seducing him and holding him captive.

"So what is it Ichabod?" she said poking him in the chest.

He started to stutter. "I just don't think you make good decisions with him around that's all," he said as he took a step back, but she took a step forward.

"Oh, you mean like you with Katrina?" she threw back at him.

He looked straight ahead thereby effectively looking completely over her head. He then looked back down at her. "Alright. I believe that we have made it clear that I was not on my best judgement during that time. Now can we please move on."

"I'm trying," she said. "If you would just give me a straight answer."

Okay she wanted an answer, he would give her one. "Fine," he told her. "I don't like the way he looks at you."

He could see the confident air start to seep out of her balloon. Her facial expression slowly started to change and he could see the panic starting to set in. She looked at him a little while longer before making for the bathroom. She knew where he was taking them and she was trying to make a run for it. He grabbed her wrist as she passed by him, effectively stopping her. She turned and pulled away from him. He took a step forward and she took a step back hitting the wall. He took another step forward.

She tried to get off of the wall but he again stepped forward, trapping her. She looked to the side. "You need to move," she told him.

"No Leftenant, you wanted an answer so I am going to give you one. You cannot decided, after demanding it, that you are going to run because you do not like it." Okay, maybe that wasn't a good idea getting so close to her because, god… he should probably move away. Why was he getting closer, he was trying to move away.

She hit him in the chest to try to get him to move but he didn't budge. She stared up at him trying to death glare him into moving. He only put his hand against the wall next to her and smiled down at her. He knew he had her pinned figuratively and literally. He could see her beginning to fidget. He could also feel something else begin to fidget, but he wouldn't pay attention to that now. Surely he was adult enough to keep his desires under control. He would just focus on the argument.

She knew that smile. That was his, I've won smile. "I didn't say I didn't like it, you pompous ass. I told you I was not going to discuss this with you."

"No," he corrected her. "You said that you would not discuss the kiss."

"Right, so shut it," she told him.

He leaned down so his face was closer to hers. "Make me." A reply he had learned no doubt from either hearing her and Jenn or Jenn and Hawley argue.

She could feel her heart rate speeding up and she could swear the temperature rose at least one hundred degrees. Seriously it was like the sun was knocking at her window but it was obviously snowing out. She leaned back on the wall as she felt her knees grow week and a pool of warm wetness starting to grow between her thighs. She squeezed her thighs together as she didn't have any panties on and she could feel her juices starting to wet the inside of her legs.

"Ichabod," the word trembled out of her mouth. It was supposed to be Ichabod back up or I will beat your ass, but the Ichabod had sounded so desperate, she thought it best to just shut the hell up until she was able to better pull herself together. Unfortunately , her falling apart had a domino effect on her partner as he had noticed the tremor and need in her voice.

The smile fell from his face and his blue eyes became almost completely black as his pupils dilated, and he looked something akin to a wild animal finally setting his sights on a prey after weeks of hunger. She could feel her chest heaving as she tried unsuccessfully to calm her breathing.

He hadn't realized that his face was drifting closer to hers until he noticed her lips part slightly in anticipation. He probably shouldn't but, why not. He was practically living with her, he cared for her deeply, they were raising a child together. They were already codependent, sure there was the whole apocalypse thing and he could wait until that was over, but from the way it was looking if he did that someone would have swooped in by then and grabbed her attention, love, and loyalty. Also, they had kissed before and the world hadn't come to an end, so why not again.

Their lips met with a hungry sound emitted from both of them. Again he could feel her battling for control as her tongue pushed back forcefully against his. His hand came up to her waist and he pushed her further into the wall, pinning her there with his hand still on her hip. The soft feel of the silk gliding against her curves caused a small growl to emit from his throat as his hand began roaming her waist, occasionally dipping down to the top of her back side.

Her hand came up to his face as she lightly brushed her palm against the hairs of his beard. She moaned as her hand drifted to the back of his head, her small fingers tangling themselves in his locks. She closed her hand and pulled gently but hard enough to pull his head back as she stood on her toes, again trying to get the upper hand.

Ichabod noticed what she was trying to do, but he was not going to let her win this game. Not tonight. But he couldn't get a good position on her as he was bending almost halfway over. So he took his other hand off the wall and stooped slightly, grabbing the back of her thighs and hoisting her up the wall, to give himself a better position.

Abbie heard herself moan, it was a little embarrassing but it wasn't really under her control anymore. And the way Ichabod had her positioned against the wall, he was pressing against her center and her robe wasn't exactly covering the area she needed it to cover as it had ridden up considerably. She began rolling her hips against him, trying to create more friction between him and her core. She was sure some part of his clothing was going to be marked with her juices but she didn't care at this point. She wanted to get off and this tall fucker was going to get her off since he was the one that had riled her up in the first place. She didn't even remember how they had gotten to this point. All she could remember was that she was trying to get ready for bed and he had interrupted her.

He adjusted his hold on her, trying to get a better grip on her as she began moving in his arms. His hands moved further up her thighs until he felt the rounded flesh of her backside. He hadn't realized how far up his hands had traveled as he had expected to come into contact with the robe before he made his way as far as he had. He gripped her backside with his left hand as his right hand drifted further inward as he was trying to figure out just what their situation was. He got his answer when one of his long, nimble fingers came into contact with a wet heat causing Abbie to jump and a sharp gasp to leave her throat as she tore lips away from his.

She looked down into his eyes as she had hoisted herself upward slight when she had pulled away from him, both of their chests heaving. He hadn't hurt her, it was just that he hadn't given her any warning that he was going to go straight for the prize. Which she didn't mind, but by the time he had actually made it there she was sensitive as she could feel her insides throbbing with need.

"Christ, Abigail," he breathe out before he put his free hand on her neck pulling her mouth back down to his.

She vaguely felt her back leaving the wall. Her hands going for the buttons of his shirt as his mouth drifted down to her neck. She felt as if she floated across the room and soon found herself being placed gently on her bed, his mouth never leaving her body. She let out a frustrated sigh as she could no longer undress him in the position they were now in, but her frustration left her as he began to suck on the pulse point of her neck. One hand again came up to entangle itself in his tresses as she craned her neck back and encouraged him to continue.

His hands trembled as they again began to roam over her body, coming into contact with the belt that was holding the robe around her body. One pull and the material would fall open reveling her to him. She felt him playing around with the knot and she almost pushed him away and flipped them over because honestly he was taking too long. She wanted him to touch her again, she wanted to feel his bare skin against hers and she didn't know if he was toying with her or if he was having second thoughts but he had better make a decision before she did it for him.

Suddenly he found himself on his back with Abbie straddling him. She wasted no time as she began kissing down his chest and starting on the buttons at the bottom of his shirt she couldn't get to before. Her kisses got lower with each button as she slid her body down his. Then suddenly he felt her center brush against the bulge in his pants and he froze, every muscle in his body tensing as she let out whimper. He felt her about to shift again and reached down to grab her shoulders. They would either stop this now or…his thoughts were interrupted as Abbie grinded her hips against him again. A strangled noise escaped him and she did it a few more times, picking up a rhythm. She suddenly felt herself being hauled back up his body as he pulled her lips back down to his.

He sat up on the bed as they engaged in another battle of the tongues. Her hands went down to the buttons on his trousers. Why the fuck did he have some many freaking buttons.

His hands searched frantically for that knot again and he found it almost immediately. This time, he did not hesitate to pull the string this time. He watched in amazement as the fabric fell open revealing two soft mounds of flesh. She was still working frantically at his buttons when she found her back once again coming into contact with her bed.

She was about to cruse at him and tell him to just let her undo the damn buttons, but before she could get the words out she felt his body covering hers again, his lips touching softly on her sternum before drifting over to the peak of her right breast. She moaned as she arched her back pushing her breast further into his mouth.

"About time you put that mouth of yours to good use," she mumbled. It was an inner thought that she hadn't realized she had voiced out loud until she felt his fingers once again ghosting at the meeting of her thighs. She gasped.

"Such bold words from someone in your position, Abigail," he told her.

She opened her mouth to reply, but the words escaped her as she felt his thumb pressing down onto the sensitive bundle of nerves between her thighs, her nails dug into his shoulders. He made one circular motion before releasing the pressure.

Her brows furrowed. Why had he stopped touching her?

He brought his mouth back down to her left breast, wrapping his lips around the peak and suckling gently, causing her to let out a shuttered breath. He continued to kiss his way down her body, the whole time her fingers tangled in his hair and small pleasurable moans escaping her, encouraging him to continue.

She gasped and her thighs fell open as she felt his lips come into contact with her hip bone, placing a wet kiss there before sucking gently.

Ichabod smiled to himself, he hadn't been expecting that exact reaction, but this was even better. He placed wet kisses at the meeting of her thighs, taking his time tasting the skin around his ultimate destination.

He heard a huff, followed by a frustrated cry of, "Crane," as he seemed to be taking too long for her liking. His eyes flickered up to her face and he found her looking down at him with a pleading look. Again he didn't know how they had gotten here, but he would give anything to see more of those lustful looks of hers as well as hear in how many different ways his name could fall from her lips.

Again, that cocky smile she thought. She had a thought to take her hand and press his face to where it belonged, but that thought along with every other thought was lost as his mouth opened and his tongue darted out, pushing past her outer folds. Her mouth fell open, but nothing came out as he dragged his tongue up her center, until her reached the swollen bundle. He then wrapped his lips around it and began suckling gently, causing her head to fall back and a loud moan to escape her mouth. He lingered there for a moment until she started to squirm. He took both his hands and grabbed a hold of her hips, keeping her from moving away from him. This only caused her cries to grow louder as she was basically pinned open to him and at the mercy of his tongue.

It wasn't until he heard an, "Oh, my god, Crane," and felt a flood of wetness coat his tongue, that he released her hips and brought his hands down to his trousers.  
He was surprised to find that all but one button had been undone. He knew that she had been working on them but he had no idea that she had gotten that many undone. To use their vernacular, the woman had skills.

As the spasms of her body began to die down, he again made his way back up to her face where he immediately captured her lips with his. He began pushing the robe off of her shoulders and once her arms were free, she immediately began to do the same with his shirt.

He didn't realize where her hands had disappeared to until he felt one of them wrap around his member pulling it from the confines of his pants. He wanted to pull away, ask her if she was sure about this because he had seen how she had reacted to the kiss, he didn't want to have to dig her out of the hole she would fling herself into if that was any indication of how she would react to this. He also had doubt, not because he didn't care for her. No he definitely did and he definitely wanted to do this. He just didn't know if she shared those same feelings, and he didn't want her to regret this. However, that doubt was erased when he felt her lining him up with her entrance.

His hips involuntarily pushed forward eliciting a loud cry from her and a grunt from him as he pushed past her entrance. His hips continued to push forward on their own accord and he could feel her nails digging into his biceps as her legs came up to wrap around him. Still, he continued to push forward until he was seated deep inside of her.

They both stayed still, Abbie trying to gather a coherent thought, the first one being that he could have warned her that he was packing like he was. Sure she had felt the girth of it when she grabbed it but she had no idea the length as she didn't have much time to explore before he was pushing himself into her. To put it simply, if she had doubts that he was the chosen one before, she didn't now. She didn't have time to dwell however when she felt him withdraw halfway from her before thrusting back into her.

"Mmhmm," she hummed as she began moving her hips against his and her head fell back into the pillows. He seized the opportunity to attack her neck with kisses as he continued to thrust halfway into her. He couldn't believe this was happening. After scolding himself almost nightly since their kiss about the dreams he would have about her and the things he would do to her in those dreams, to finally taste her and feel her soft delicate skin at his fingertips, her warm wet walls surrounding him, well this was better than any dream his mind could conjure up. And though he was never one to put too much stock into dominating his partner in the bedroom, after that first kiss and having to endure the everyday push pull that he would encounter with his partner, he could not deny that the fact that she was coming apart in his arms made the experience all the more pleasurable for him. The moans and soft cries tumbling from her lips as well as the intermittent tremors he would feel from her body made him want to make her give into him completely.

"It's seems my mouth is not the only thing being put to good use tonight," he smiled down at her as he continued to give her slow half length thrusts.

"Fuck you Crane," she breath out.

He responded by thrusting the full length of himself into her. This caused her to pull him down to her and press their bodies together as she moaned loudly into his neck.

"If I were you I would mind my words," he told her as he continued to move his hips into hers, giving long, deep, powerful strokes. Abbie wanted to respond, she really did, but the only thing that she could hear leaving her mouth were moans and screams intermixed with his name and calls to a higher being. He was hitting deep inside of her with every stroke, and she literally thought that she was going to fall apart. She did, as all she could feel was a dull ache in her guts and the involuntary spasms of her pelvic muscles as he caressed the entrance of her womb with each stroke. She hadn't even realized that she was making any sounds anymore as she thought all her body was capable of doing at this time was feeling. She must have been pretty loud though as she heard him whisper in her ear telling her that she had to be quieter. That tuned her into the fact that she was actually quit loud and that she was pleading with him not to stop. She tried to contain herself but she must not have done a good job because soon after that she felt his lips pressing against hers again.

He wanted to continue to hear her call out has name as well as hear her pleas and moans, but he didn't want to be interrupted by the smallest occupant of the house, especially not when he was this close. He continued to push into her, picking up his pace a little and then suddenly Abbie pulled her lips away from his, a strangled cry leaving her throat as her back arched and he could feel the rhythmic spasms of her body around his manhood bringing him to his own orgasm.

They stayed clinging to each other for a while as they waited for normal sensation to return to their bodies. Abbie was lost in her own thoughts about what had just happened and didn't speak until she felt Ichabod placing soft kisses on her shoulder and collar bone.

"Why didn't you tell me you could do that?" she exhaled.

"I had no idea that it wasn't a common occurrence," he told her.

"Most men cannot," she smiled up at him, referring to actually eliciting a vaginal orgasm in a woman without any other stimulation than his penis. She really had no idea if most men could or couldn't, but given her pass experiences as well as the general consensus she had gotten from her small group of girlfriends most of them couldn't.

She saw the smile disappear from his face, and his facial expression slowly changed into a more serious one. This caused the smile to disappear from her face as she turned her head to the side and began trying to maneuver her way from under him. She felt his member slip from her and winced at the rough and questioning, "Leftenant" that followed.

"Please don't do this Ichabod," she told him.

He felt himself immediately becoming frustrated with her. "Please don't do what?" he questioned. "I only wish to talk to you."

"I don't want to talk about it, I already told you," she said.

"Well that was before," he said.

"Stop talking, right now," she told him.

"I will not," he proclaimed.

"Fine, I'm leaving," she immediately sat up in bed, effectively pushing him all the way off of her, and reached for her robe.

He didn't want her to leave. He didn't know where she would go because this was her house, hell it was her bed, but he knew she'd find somewhere to get away from him and that was the last thing he wanted after what they had just shared. He wanted her there with him. He wanted to hold her, feel her in his arms as they slept.

He grabbed her hand as she went to wrap the robe around herself, and she paused but didn't look at him.

"Stay."

* * *

Abbie stirred from her sleep. She really didn't want to get up as she was surrounded by warmth, more than her usual comforter, and she could feel the chill of the night air coming from the window next to her bed. Still whatever it was that was disturbing her nudged at her again. Her eyes remained closed and she turned over burying her face in a wall of warmth that smelled of her partner. She then again heard what it was calling her from her sleep. It was the soft cries of "Mommy" coming from somewhere in the house. Her eyes fluttered open and she reluctantly rolled away from the comfort that she was encased in. She swung her feet over the side of the bed and grabbed the first piece of fabric her eyes came into contact with, which just so happened to be Ichabod's shirt.

She heard a sharp intake of air from behind her and she was waiting to hear his voice asking where she was going. But it never came. He was going to but he heard the little girl calling from somewhere outside of the room.

He watched from behind her as she methodically put his shirt around her and slowly began buttoning it up. She ran her fingers through her hair which she must have mistakenly left down after they fell into bed together. She gathered her hair in her hands allowing it to fall over one shoulder as she looked off to the side thoughtfully. He smiled, she was beautiful all around. Even in the dark, when he could not fully see her, she gave off a glow of radiance. She looked towards the door of the bedroom after another "Mommy" echoed through the air.

She rose from the bed, buttoning up the few remaining buttons and made her way into the living room where she had last left the child. She was met by a tousled head of curls, a pouty expression and big brown eyes threatening to over flow with tears.

"You left me," the girl pouted.

Abbie couldn't help the smile that came to her face. She would have felt bad about leaving the child alone, given recent events but it seemed that Macey was more upset with her than she was afraid.

"Aww, I'm sorry Bug," she said as she padded over to the couch and lifted the child into her arms. "We left the light on for you." The girl only responded by lying her head on her mother's shoulder. "You forgive me."

"Mmhm," was the only response that she got and she looked down to see the child dosing off again. She opted to go to Macey's room as she was sure her partner had not managed to put any clothes on before he fell back to sleep.

She laid in bed with Macey until the child fell completely back to sleep and opted to stay there. Sure her bed was more comfortable, well just about any bed was more comfortable than a bed with Macey in it. But she figured if she and her partner didn't wake up in the same bed, maybe it would be easier to avoid what had happened between them earlier in the night. Maybe...

* * *

**A/N: I know it has been a looong time, and I didn't mean for it to be that long but it seems the powers of the universe have been doing their best to keep me from updating this story. First my freaking computer crashed, like just decided one day that it wasn't going to work. And that was after I had already written a good portion of this update. So I had to go out and buy another computer which I was unhappy about. Then I was pissed because I lost a lot of the update so I just started writing on my other stories because I was angry with this one (I was really angry with my computer but found a way to be angry at the story for being on the computer). Then when I decided to just start from scratch on this chapter, I got super busy like busy to the point where there is so much to do you just go take a nap because you can't get all of this shit done anyway so hey. Then...the dumbass computer decides to star to work again, so I'm super angry now and refuse to use it for a while because I have already spent money on a new computer (sighs and pinches nose). But then I remembered the update was on here so I got back on and started updating some more. Did a lot of it last night and finished up this morning, but wouldn't you know it...the freaking modem is out so there goes the fricking cable, computer, wifi, roku box, thank good for 4g because I would be assed out if it wasn't for my phone. I also live in an apartment complex so that is where this update is coming from. Yes I am bumming Wifi as I type. SMH, but I do appreciate the reviews, so I worked through my anger with inanimate objects and At&amp; fricking T though I have a payment pending for them right now...you know what let me stop talking about this. Point is again, I appreciate reviews so I worked through all the BS to get this update posted. The update would have been sooner if it wasn't for my refusal to let the universe see my sweat. **

**Also, I really hope you guys like the update. I hope it flows well and they still seem in character. I can never tell when I have things interrupting my writing and I have to write a chapter in pieces so far apart.**

**Please leave reviews. Also if you are reading my Scandal story, I will have a pre last chapter excerpt that was supposed to be a part of the last chapter but was part of the failure that is my old computer. I will either put it at the beginning or end of the next update.**


	17. Chapter 17

"He laid in bed, replaying the events from the night before in his head with a smile plastered on his face. He was happy. His feelings for his partner beyond their partnership was becoming clearer. And the fact that they were basically living under the same roof and raising a child together, well it made him feel like he had his own little family. Now that he saw the outcome, he wished that they had given in to their feelings sooner. He wanted this. He wanted her, and their daughter and he was excited about their future. Abbie was his best friend and he had a feeling that if they would have been able to have the chance in his former life, things would have been the same.

"Mm, no. You can't have cake and hot chocolate for breakfast, Baby."

He smiled that the girl had had the gull to make such a request. He loved their dynamic, the fact that the little girl, despite everything that had happened to her had adjusted well and was thriving and living a normal, happy life. And he loved watching Abbie mother her.

"Can I just have the cake then?" She followed up and he could almost see her hanging onto her mother's hand, looking up at her with a shy smile.

"Mm, no," Abbie replied. "Neither the hot chocolate." He smiled that his partner had beaten her to the punch.

"Well what am I gonna eat?" He could hear her pouting, and he got out of bed knowing they were heading for the kitchen. He threw on a pair of pants and a long sleeve shirt. When he opened the door he caught sight of them turning the corner, Abbie going on over a list of foods that Macey didn't seem to want.

He smiled and followed behind them, eager to witness his partner's reaction to him after they had shared a night of passion together.

"Macey, put your bottom in the chair?" Abbie told her as she went about the kitchen. The girl was standing in the chair, Abbie had her back turned to him.

"But I don't like eggs," she said.

"Well you don't have to eat them," Abbie told her. She knew the girl was lying. She had just devoured an omelet the last time they had gone to the diner together. "Just eat the hash browns and the banana. Do you want peanut butter on your banana?"

"No, I don't want banana," she said starting to jump in the chair.

"Macey, sit," Abbie said firmly as she turned to her. "Before you have a cast on your other arm."

He saw the look on Macey's face as well as Abbie's. This was a standoff and Macey knew she was going to lose, so the tears started gearing up.

"But I want the cake," she whined.

"Macey," he said, figuring he could save this before it went completely south. Both their heads snapped towards him and he could see the tears threatening to spill out of Macey's eyes as well as the look of surprise on Abbie's face. Or was that panic?

The child dropped to her knees in the chair and pouted. He raised an eyebrow at her letting her know it wasn't going to work this time. She broke down into tears.

"Macey," Abbie said as she took the girl out of the chair, figuring if she wasn't in the chair at all she would be less apt to cry about it. She knew that didn't make any sense but four year old logic. "You can't stand in the chair baby, you're going to fall."

The child hummed and wiped away her tears before running over to Ichabod with her arms outstretched. He scooped her up and reassured her that there was no need to cry. He continued to talk to her and soothe her as Abbie continued to go about making breakfast. He noticed that she wasn't saying much to him, but he didn't think much of it. It wasn't until Macey decided that she wanted to go and watch Saturday morning cartoons that they were left alone.

Abbie squeezed her eyes shut as she heard the little feet running into the living room. Great. Now they were alone without any distraction. Well she had one distraction and she was going to milk it for all it was worth. She had never focused so intently on cooking eggs before in her life. The fact that the events from the night before keep flashing in her head, causing her knees to get a little weak, well, she hoped she was hiding that as well as she thought she was.

He turned back to her and studied her intently. They had shared something very special the night before and he was sure they were both still feeling the effects from it. His eyes roamed over her and he no longer had to imagine what lay beneath his shirt that she still had on. He had gotten the chance to touch and feel every inch of her against him last night and he couldn't wait to experience her again. Unfortunately he would not be able to take her on top of the kitchen counter as he so badly wanted to, for several reasons. One being that he still wanted to discuss what was going on between them.

He pulled out a chair at the table and sat facing her. "I believe after the events of last night, I have earned a chance to have this conversation." He expected her to turn around and give him that look she always gave him when she thought he was being cocky, or shoot back a witty remark before coming to sit at the table with him so they could talk. He didn't, however, expect the response that he got.

"What conversation?" She said, not even turning around to face him.

The smirk that had been on his face disappeared, but he swallowed and replied anyway. "About you and I. And what last night means for us going forward."

"There's nothing to talk about," she told him. That was her game plan. Denial, denial, denial.

He gave her an incredulous look, though she didn't turn around to see it.

"Surely you jest. I believe what we shared last night would suggest otherwise."

"I don't know what you're talking about Ichabod," she said finally turning to face him. She folded her arms across her chest.

His brow furrowed as he stared at her, studied her. Trying to figure out if it was her that had gone insane or him. "Either you are trolling me, Leftenant," he watched as she rolled her eyes, "or I had and extremely vivid dream last night. Being that you are still wearing my clothes I am apt to believe that it is the former and not the latter."

She took a deep breath and let it out before turning back to counter and opening the can of biscuits. "Abigail, we are going to talk about this," he told her as he stood from the table and slowly made his way towards her. There was no way that he was going to let this go unsettled. Whatever this was going on between them it had to be explored, for better or for worse. They both deserved that, or at the very least, an in depth discussion.

"God, Ichabod," she said as she turned again to face him, growing frustrated that he wasn't taking her hints to change the subject. "It was just sex. Let it go." She moved to the refrigerator to get the fruits out.

He watched as she stalked about, growing frustrated at her insolence, as if it was him who was doing something to offend her. "I assure you it was not just sex," he told her. "At least to me it wasn't. People today may just callously use their bodies for pleasure but it is not something that I would partake in."

"Oh, really?" She said in an accusatory tone as she turned suddenly again to face him. She hadn't expected him to be so close. She took a step back as she could feel his anger radiating off of him, and she had never noticed so much their difference in stature as she did at that moment. Not that she thought that he would hurt her or that she couldn't take him if she needed to, but she had never seen him this angry before.

"Not in a situation like this," he half yelled at her. Okay, sure. His times were not the purest, and they did partake in their fair share of bodily pleasantries, but not when they actually cared for each other. If a man actually cared for a woman, because that was just the way the gender roles fell in his day, he would never tarnish her reputation by touching her in the way that he and Abbie had touched last night. Not unless he planned on a long term, committed relationship. And that's the point he was trying to get to if she would just sit down and talk with him.

He had feelings for Abbie; feelings that ran beyond their platonic biblical partnership. He thought she was amazing. Everything about her took his breath away. He swooned every time he saw her nurturing side with Macey and admired the kind heartedness she showed towards him, and everyone else around her even when they didn't necessarily deserve it. He also found it admirable the way she stood up for herself and others that needed it. She was strong and enchanting. Often times he would find himself just staring at her, musing over how she made everything around her seem more beautiful yet everything paled in comparison to her beauty. The woman was magic. Unfortunately for him she could also be infuriating. But it was too late for him to back out now. He was in love with her.

"The feelings I have for you go deeper than any friendship or partnership could explain," he started trying to have the needed discussion with her.

She only replied by pushing past him, preparing to leave before he could continue. He grabbed her by her upper arm causing her to turn and bounce back into to him since she had been moving so forcefully.

"Let go of me," she said as she hit him in the chest, but he maintained his grip, loosening it slightly for fear of hurting her. She looked up at him with a stern expression, letting him know that she did not plan on changing her position on this.

He was too upset to continue to fight with her. Fine she wanted it to be like this then so be it. He would not fight with her anymore. "Don't do this Abigail," he warned her. He watched as her facial expression grew more resolute, and she pulled away from him one last time. This time he let her go. She rolled her eyes then turned and walked out of the kitchen. He wasn't sure where she had gone until he heard a door down the hallway slam shut.

He continued to stare at the door, trying to keep himself from going behind her and continuing the argument. He really wanted to continue the argument, he really did. But he would not force her to confront her feelings for him nor be a good friend by simply acknowledging his feelings and letting him express something that clearly meant a lot to him. It could be that she didn't feel the same, though he highly doubted it given her reaction. She had made her feelings for Luke perfectly clear and he had never seen her behave this way with him. Jenny on the other hand, well he had discovered that Abbie had a pathological way of dealing with people she cared a great deal for, particularly those who she felt uncomfortably close to. Thankfully, she had become more comfortable with her and Jenny's relationship, but he was asking her to enter uncharted territory in their relationship. So she was running away and he had tried to reassure her, but he would not enable her to continue behaving like a child or treating him this way. He had feelings as well, and if she didn't care enough to at least make an effort at not destroying them, then maybe he had to reconsider just how close they were.

"Where's Mommy?" Macey asked from the door way to the kitchen.

His eyes snapped down to the child, as she stared up at him innocently, her mischievous streak from just a few minutes prior completely gone. "What was that noise?" She continued.

He continued to stare at her, as he tried to force his anger and frustration out of the way to interact with his daughter. He smiled as he walked over to her and the little girl instinctively raised her arms.

"Mommy went to go lay down for a moment," he told her as he carried her back into the living room. "You sit hear and continue watching your cartoons and I'll be back in a few minutes. Okay?"

"Okay," the child said not thinking anything of it. She just figured he was going to go check on her mother since she was either not feeling well or still sleepy.

He smiled at the child again to reassure her before making his way down the hall to one of the closets that Abbie had designated his. He grabbed an outer shirt and pulled it over his head before taking his coat and pulling it on. He then proceeded to pull on his boots, deciding to leave the yoga pants that had become pajama pants after he decided that yoga was just to torturous for him to deal with. He then went back to the kitchen and grabbed his cell phone and his wallet with his identification as well as his keys to the cabin, then proceeded to call an Uber car and went back into the living room. He stopped in front of the child and told her that he would see her later.

"Where are you going?" She asked curiously as she reached her hand up to touch his beard. Something he found that she took comfort in and just simply liked doing as she like the feel of it.

"I have to go back to the cabin to take care of some things," he lied. He felt terrible for doing so, but he had witnessed first hand how anxious she got when things were tense between he and Abbie, so he figured lying was best.

"Mm, okay," she said, "but hurry and come back so we can watch The Grinch."

He had promised her that they could watch the Christmas cartoon later that afternoon when it was scheduled to come on television. He smiled sadly before placing a kiss on the top of her head. "I will see you later, Sweetheart. Be a good girl, okay?"

"Kay," Macey told him as she watched him stand from his kneeling position. She watched as he walked out of the door closing it behind him. She then grew curious as to what her mother was doing and hopped down off of the couch to go and find her.

Abbie had been sitting on the floor in her bathroom. She had initially come in to blow off some steam and get her wits about her after her argument with Ichabod, but somewhere along the line she had started crying. This was wrong, it was all wrong. She wasn't supposed to be feeling like this. This was her partner, they were supposed to save the world together and raise a kid. They weren't supposed to fall in love or into bed with each other. And it frustrated her that she had let this happen. She was confused, which pissed her off even more because she hated feeling like this. At first she had been sad and maybe even jealous that her partner was showering another woman with his attention and affection. But she had dealt with it. Now he was ready and willing to give her what she had unsuspectedly found herself craving from him and she wasn't sure of how to deal with it. She wasn't even sure they were supposed to be doing this. She was afraid. It was one thing to have an unrequited love that the other person didn't know about. Those hurt, a lot sometimes, but they were safe in the fact that they were stable and completely controlled by her. Actually having a two way relationship with someone was risky, with the potential to hurt even more, and she couldn't control when or where it would go wrong and she feared how bad it would hurt when it did go wrong. This was all just too much.

"Mommy?" She heard the questioning call from somewhere on the other side of the door.

She sniffed and immediately began wiping her eyes, preparing to hide her tears from her daughter. "I'm in here, Mace," she said, trying to sound strong and still wiping at the tears. She must not have done a good job because the smile immediately disappeared from the child's face as she opened the door.

"Why are you crying? What happened?" She said almost in a panic, and Abbie could already see the tears starting to form in her eyes as her bottom lip started to jut out.

"I'm not crying, Baby," she lied unsuccessfully as Macey continued to stare at her, a few tears slipping down her face. "Come here," she said holding her arms out to the child who immediately ran to her.

The girl laid her head on her mother's shoulder as she continued to sob. "Why are you crying?" She asked again. This time Abbie decided to tell her the truth.

"I'm just a little sad, Baby. That's all," she said as she rubbed the child's back trying to soothe her.

Macey was no fool. She may not have known what was going on but she had an inkling that maybe her father leaving had something to do with her mother crying. "I want Daddy to come back."

This took Abbie by surprise. "Did he leave?"

The girl nodded into Abbie's shoulder. Abbie fought the urge to jump up off of the floor and call him to find out where he was going. It was still snowing out and he didn't have a car. She figured he was going back to the cabin, but after their falling out and the fact that he didn't tell her he was leaving, she wasn't so sure about it.

"Can we go see him?" The girl asked. She knew he had just left, but she didn't trust what was going on around her. She wasn't getting the entire story.

"We'll see him tomorrow, Baby," Abbie said, hoping Ichabod showed up at the archives tomorrow like they were scheduled to.

* * *

A/N:Will make corrections later. I hope it doesn't post weird because the format got mucked up some kind of way.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Yay, season 3 has kicked off. I was actually supposed to post this on Thursday night but got tied up with a few things. That being said, Squeeeeee. Lmao, I haven't done that in a while. **

**Were there gay undertones on Nightmare on Elm Street 2? Hmm, I'm going to have to go back and watch this. This is an interesting documentary though...one that I shouldn't be watching because I will not sleep tonight. And I really need to sleep because I'm exhausted. After taking a nap, making myself get up and do stuff earlier and promising myself I was going to go out, I wound up on my couch struggling to stay awake as I type. FYI if you hear about someone getting slaughtered in their sleep with no signs of home intrusion and I don't update for a while, it was me and the killer was Freddy. I really shouldn't be watching this. I used to make my mom wake me up if it looked like I was dreaming after watching this because she would always come into my room to check and make sure I was there, which I didn' t realize that was what she was doing until I was tasked with baby sitting a house full of teenagers (side eye). The crazy part is, she would actually wake me up and ask me if I was dreaming and I'd be like no, but then I'd be mad because I was scared to fall asleep again. I know this is a crazy tangent, but it's October, my favorite month for multiple reasons including Halloween and a month full of random scary movies on television as well as Hocus Pocus, but it was either talk about this or vent my frustrations from my other fandom. Which I'm not about to drag you guys down that rabbit hole with me. We got Ichabbie back and we are going to rock it until the wheels fall off. But FOX, don't think I missed that shady shit ya'll pulled with Taraji and Megan only in that promo. (Eye roll) Enjoy this chapter. **

* * *

Abbie smoothed down some of the wild curls on the head of the child sitting in her lap. She was at the archives, unfortunately, Macey was feeling a little neglected since they had all actually come there to work. That resulted in her whining, which she had been doing a lot of lately, ultimately allowing a few crocodile tears to slip down her chubby cheeks, which was how she ended up sitting in Abbie's lap watching the portable television as the woman tried to work while simultaneously pretending that she was watching Spongebob with the girl.

"Mommy look," Macey said, as she once again realized that her mother was not paying attention as she had promised she would the last time she informed her that she was indeed not.

"I'm looking, Baby," Abbie tried to placate her.

"No, you're not," Macey rebutted as she placed a hand on her mother's cheek and physically tried to turn her head towards the television.

"I see," Abbie said as she allowed her eyes to dart to the television screen. They quickly went back to the computer screen in front of her.

"You're not looking," Macy informed her as she placed the other hand on the other cheek to get the woman to stay focused in the direction she wanted her.

"Mace, I already told you. Mommy has work to do, I can't watch cartoons with you all day, Baby. I'm sorry."

The child huffed and folded her arms. Abbie could tell she was in for another tantrum. She sighed and looked over at Ichabod who was skillfully typing away at his computer.

It had been a few days since he left her apartment the morning after they had had sex and it had been awkward between them to say the least. Well she felt like it was more awkward for her than Ichabod because he was just ignoring her. If it didn't have anything to do with their roles as witnesses or Macey's immediate care, he was not talking to her. She had tried to shoot him a friendly smile here and there because she knew that she was the one that was more in the wrong. She had for lack of a better phrase, started it by refusing to acknowledge his feelings. And now he was, in a way, taking her to task for it. But he even ignored her friendly gestures, turning away from her as soon as she made an attempt at some type of communication. He didn't call or come over. She had even tried to offer him a ride in the last couple of mornings to which he'd reply with a cold. "No, thank you. My transportation needs are taken care of." Then he would just hang up calmly.

That was the thing that was driving her crazy. He was just ignoring her. She knew he had to be mad at her because why else would he be giving her the silent treatment for the most part, but he wasn't showing it. It was as if he was fine with the fact that their friendship had come to a seemingly abrupt end. And it was driving her insane, because she definitely wasn't okay with that.

She was about to ask him for a little help with Macey, but thankfully Jen and Hawley walked in diverting Macey's attention and postponing the temper tantrum for the time being. This also caused Ichabod to actually pay attention to something other than his computer screen.

"What'cha got?" Abbie asked holding out her hand, as she already knew they had found something from their demeanor.

"Good news and bad news," her sister replied. "We found out what Henry and Katrina want with the medallions."

Abbie laid the folder down on her desk and opened it, deciding to be nice to her selectively mute partner and actually allow him to see what was inside of it. What she found inside was confusing. A sketch of some sort of book with seven seemingly non related sketches surrounding it, like a bird-man type thing and what looked like a mummy's tomb.

"What is it?" Abbie asked.

"The Book of the Seven Realms," Ichabod answered aloud, even though he didn't realize he had.

Abbie looked up at him, though he avoided eye contact with her. She knew that that wasn't meant to be direct communication with her, but still, she had to bite her tongue to keep a smart reply from slipping from her mouth.

"What do you know about this?" Hawley asked, making it clear that he and Jenny didn't know as much about the book as he wished they did.

"The beast of seven heads," he told them. From the book of Revelations. Well not exactly as they told it, but none the less."

"Okay, so what exactly is it?" Jenny asked, knowing that her weird friend had a knack for going off on tangents, thinking that they were following him when they really weren't. He went on to explain.

"The book of Revelations speaks of the seven headed beast that will fight against God's army during the apocolypse. Many, especially in your day, interpreted it to mean an alignment of governments. But the more I have come to know in this century makes me believe that Washington was right. The beast represents an alignment of Coven's, not governments."

"Covens?" Hawley asked. "Like Katrina Covens?"

Ichabod halfheartedly rolled his eyes at his expired spouse's name. Not because she was dead, but very much because it seems like their marriage had actually expired by the terms and conditions set forth on the day of their union.

"Well what do they have to do with this book?" Jenny asked.

"The book was created from the seven headed beast. It is a book of magic that even mere mortals can conjure magical powers from."

Jenny gave Abbie a look. She responded with, "You ask him. He's not talking to me."

This caused Hawley's head to tilt slightly as he gave them a look. The man was so easily distracted, though she did store that in the back of her mind to bring up later when she was alone with either Ichabod or her sister. She knew that they had been acting different with each other but she figured it was just them being crazy with each other again as nothing had resulted from that kiss yet. They seemed to make each other a little insane.

"Why would seven powerful witches want to make a book that just anyone can pick up and harness their powers?" Jenny asked him.

"Oh, it wasn't by choice," he told her. "See each of the seven heads represents the leader of one of the covens that plotted to join forces with the others in order to take over the world. Needless to say they were not the least evil of the witches around at the time. They combined their powers and became the most powerful witches. They devised an almost successful plan to wreak havoc on the earth in their path to conquering it."

"If they were the most powerful, how were they stopped?" Hawley asked, his attention redirected to the matter at hand.

"Eight angels were sent from heaven, with a specific task to appeal to the coven leaders. That plan didn't bode over so well as a battle ensued. The witches tried to strengthen themselves but ended up turning into a giant mutated beast."

"Sound's like that last monster we saw," Hawley added.

"You saw a monster?" Macey asked in terrified awe.

Jenny nudged him in his side with her elbow. They had all forgotten the child was there since they were all enthralled by Ichabod's grim fairy tail. Including Macey, though it scared her.

"No he didn't," Abbie said shooting him a glare. He shrugged and mouthed a sorry.

"But he said he saw one," she argued.

"Yes," Ichabod jumped in, "but it was a good monster. Like on Monster's Inc."

"Really? Was he nice?" the child replied eagerly.

They all took a break from the more serious matter to help make up a contrived story about how the monster was looking for his lost pet. Abbie then got Macey to go play in the play area they had set up on the other side of the room with the promise of an ice cream cone later.

Ichabod continued on with the story explaining to them that though combining their powers made the beast more powerful, it also made their magic more exposed. The angels managed to draw the magic from the beast and banish it to the nine circles of hell, none of the heads able to occupy the same realm at once, preventing them from conspiring to escape. He went on the explain that the evil magic slowly started to consume the angels, but the only way that they could get rid of the witches' magic, was to get rid of their own. Which was how the book came into existence. The needed some place to put the magic.

"Okay, so what do the medallions have to do with this?" Abbie asked.

"That's the bad news," Hawley said.

"These circles," Jenny said pointing to the front of the book, and Abbie could make out eight circular pieces that didn't seem to be continuous with the rest of the cover, "The medallions go in them. That's the only way you can open the book."

"Yeah, and not only do Maleficent and Diablo have the book, they have three of the eight medallions, while we only have two."

Abbie looked back down at the sketch. It was good that they knew what the book was and the purpose of the medallion but they still didn't know exactly what Henry and Katrina planned to do with the book. But she decided to try to see the bright side.

"Well as long as we have those two pieces, they can't use the book, so we just have to make sure they don't get it."

She looked up at the rest of her team and they gave her looks that said what she was implying was easier said than done.

All of a sudden they heard a small crash causing all of their heads to whip in the direction of the noise. They saw Macey standing next to Jen's workstation, staring down at the floor.

Hawley was the first to move as he had an idea that what had just broken was the crystal figurine that he had specifically asked Macey not to touch. It wasn't the only one of it's kind, but it was pretty unique and he had a buyer that was willing to pay a lot of money for it. But that was no longer a thing.

"Macey, what are you doing?" he asked as he made his way over to her.

"It was a accident," she said in her defense.

"I thought I told you not to play with that."

"But I wanted it" she said. As everyone made their way over to them to assess the damage. Ichabod left to go get the broom and dust pan.

"That's not the point. I asked you to stay away from it," he told her firmly. "You could've cut yourself," he said thinking out loud as he pricked his hand on a piece of the shards. "The next time I tell you not to touch my things, don't touch them. Okay?"

The child only pouted at him.

"Macey," Abbie said warningly. She was upset with the child as well for not listening.

Macey responded by huffing and pushing both her hands against Hawley's shoulders, as he had stooped down to her level to start to clean up the crystal pieces.

"Macey!" Abbie said, her voice less stern and more surprised now. "You do not hit people," Abbie said stepping closer to her. "You are going in time out. Apologize to Hawley right now."

Macey just stared at Hawley, who still had a shocked and hurt look on his face.

Abbie stooped and placed her hands on Macey's shoulders, turning the child to face her. "Apologize."

"NO!" Macey said folding her arms as she tried to pull away, but Abbie held on to her.

"Macey," Abbie said as firm as she could. "Apologize right now."

Macey tried to pull away again and, again, Abbie held on. This time Macey continued to try to get away from her as she began screaming, "No! No! No! NO! NO! NO! NO!"

"Macey stop it," Abbie tried, but Macey continued to scream over her and cry as she continued to try to get away.

"Let go of me! Don't! No! Stop! NO! Let go! LET GOOOOOO!"

"Macey," Abbie said her voice sounding a little more desperate and less firm.

Macey looked in her mother's eyes as she continued to jerk away from her. "GET AWAY FROM MEEE!

Abbie, frustrated and emotionally hurt and flustered, she let the child go causing her to stumble back a little. She tried to catch her balance and fell on her bottom which caused her to cry more.

All the adults watched in silence, Abbie trying to gather herself mentally and emotionally and the other adults wondering if they should intervene and, if so when. Jenny rubbed her palms on the back of her jeans as she could see the hurt in her sister's eyes when Macey told her to get away from her. She was flustered and scrambling and that was making Jenny anxious because she honestly had nothing of value that she thought she could offer her in this situation. The thought did cross her mind just to bear hug the child and take her away from the room just so she and Abbie could have some time apart to cool down and gather themselves.

They watched as the child stumbled to her feet, still audibly crying. She then picked the teddy bear that had probably been discarded there while she went to grab the figurine that she shouldn't have been touching and threw it in some general direction before disappearing into the bookshelves.

Abbie just watched. And Ichabod continued to stare at the spot where the bear lay near the window. The bear seemed sad, having been discarded by his best and dearest friend in such a manner and Ichabod figured that it was slightly poetic the way the bear seemed to in itself portray the heavy and melancholic emotions that permeated the air.

He wanted to look at his partner, but he was afraid that he would see more than what he could out of his peripherals. He could see the tears welling in her eyes as well as the tremble of her lip before she turned and stalked out of the room. He stood there for a few more seconds before walking over to the bear he had been staring at and picking it up. He then proceeded to walk into the bookshelves.

* * *

She forcefully pushed open the front doors of the entrance to the archives, welcoming the shock that the cold crisp winter air delivered to her body and appreciating the way it cleared her lungs of the stuffy, suffocating air that filled them only a few seconds ago. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply and held it before exhaling. She then opened her eyes, expecting to feel a little bit better. She scanned the snow covered canvas, searching for the piece of mind that was supposed to be there, but she didn't find it.

She felt a new batch of tears spring to her eyes. Macey's yelling continued to ring in her ears and she could see the anger, confusion, and hurt in the child's eyes. She could feel it seeping from her but it seems that she couldn't console her this time as she was the source of her pain. "GET AWAY FROM ME!" The once small voice replayed in her head.

Her hands came to her face as she felt the tears start to come faster, stinging her eyes. She stooped where she was, the cold becoming uncomfortable as she had left her coat and scarf inside. She didn't care. She was in too much pain to care. Macey was angry, lashing out for some reason and she had a good idea of what it was but she couldn't admit it to herself as it would put too much of the blame on her. The child hadn't really been herself since she found her crying on her bathroom floor and she asked about Ichabod constantly, mostly reaffirming that she was going to see him the next day. The tension between the two of them was affecting Macey more than she was willing to admit. But, it was better to think that this was just one of the rare, severely over exaggerated 'because I'm tired', tantrums. But her tears shed for the true reason.

"You okay?" Abbie heard her sister's voice and felt a hand on her shoulder.

She immediately tried to dry up her tears. "Yeah," she sniffed. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Jenny saw the last few tear escape her eyes but didn't say anything as they continued to watch the people that had actually decided to brave the weather and snow go about their daily business.

"Cool," she replied. They were silent for a while before she spoke again. "So you gonna tell me what's going on, or are you gonna make me guess?"

Abbie let out a self loathing laugh. "I thought it was obvious," she said, as Jenny turned to look at her. "I am royally fucking things up," she said. "As a mother. As a friend...as a partner."

Jenny just stared at her sister as a few more silent tears slid down the woman's face. She had no idea what Abbie was talking about, but it was clear that whatever it was she was beating herself up for it. She continued.

"But that's probably no surprise to you," she said sadly. "One of my first major fuck ups was as a big sister."

Jenny frowned. She didn't like Abbie beating herself up about things, especially about what had happened between them. She could beat her up about it, when she saw fit, but if that wasn't the case she saw no reason for the woman to feel bad about it. She pulled her older sister into a hug. Abbie was actually a great older sister, and Jenny credited her as the reason why she had had the courage to say what she had actually saw in the forest that day. Though they were only a few years apart, Abbie had protected Jenny and tried her best to shield her from what they thought was their mother's psychotic breaks. Abbie had taught her to stay strong and hold her head high and not to let the kids at school get to her when they were teased. She had made sure that she ate when their mother was too exhausted from constant worry to carry on her day to day function. Abbie had basically raised her, but unfortunately she had had no one to do the same in return for her. She had no idea where an eight year old got the strength and knowledge to do all what Abbie had done for her, but looking back on it, she supposed the girl had just been doing for her the things she would have liked for herself.

"She would have been better off if I'd just dropped her off in the city with those people," she confessed her inner thoughts.

"Abbie don't say that," Jenny said still holding on to her big sister. "You are a great mother and Macey loves you."

"Yeah, and I'm ruining her," was her reply.

This caused Jenny to pull back from her a little. "What happened?"

"She's acting out," Abbie said stepping away from her little sister.

"Yeah, but why?" Jenny asked, knowing the woman had an idea that she just wasn't sharing.

"I don't know," she lied. "She's just been angrier lately, and sadder." Abbie said remembering that she had had to let the girl sleep in her bed last night as she cried herself to sleep because she had wanted to see Ichabod but Abbie kept telling her that she would see him tomorrow.

Abbie noticed that Jenny was still looking at her, expectantly. She shifted nervously and wrapped her arms around herself trying to stay warm. "Ichabod hasn't been around a lot the last few days and I think it's getting to her."

Jenny's eyebrows drew together. "Yeah, what is going on with you two?" She had meant to bring this up sooner, but Macey's scene had caused her to forget. She never thought they were linked until now.

Abbie shifted again, and looked across the street, refusing to make eye contact. "I don't know...we slept together."

Jenny's jaw almost hit the floor but she didn't say anything. This caused Abbie to glance her way. "Don't look at me like that Jen," she pouted. She knew this was a mess. She needed Jenny to give a oh that's all response, not the one she was giving now which was the exact opposite.

"I'm sorry. You slept with Ichabod," Jenny said reaffirming what she had just heard. "How am I supposed to react to that. Oh my god, Abbie. You slept with Ichabod!"

"Gee thanks. Now that you say it I feel so much better about it," Abbie said sarcastically.

"Why would you feel bad about it, you…," Jenny stopped herself. "Oh. Was it bad?"

Jenny watched as Abbie kicked the ball of her foot against the sidewalk and pressed her tongue the inside of her cheek before turning her head away from her.

"Abbie?" Jenny questioned. "What does that mean? I don't know what that means?"

"No," Abbie snapped, as she tried to keep the thoughts of her and Ichabod in bed at bay. "No, okay. It wasn't bad."

Jenny frowned again before a smile slowly spread across her face. "Oh, no. You mean to tell me that British dudes from the seventeen hundreds had it like that? Abbie, what the frick man, I need details."

"We had sex, he wanted to talk, I said no, he left," Abbie spewed. "In that order."

Surprisingly, Jenny didn't have to think too hard to figure out the details of that. It was obvious, to her at least, how Ichabod and Abbie felt about each other. And she knew Abbie. What her sister had meant to say was that Ichabod tried to confess his feeling for her so she pushed him away and ran like hell and now his feelings were hurt which was making for the awkwardness between them as well as part of Abbie's currently hurt feelings.

"Abbie, you need to fix this," Jenny told her. She would dig deeper into the 'we had sex' part later, but for now, she needed Abbie to stop being a butt head.

* * *

Ichabod found the child in the corner, near the window, lying on the floor by one of the smaller bookshelves that lined the wall. She caught sight of him and rolled over, turning her back to him. He smiled sadly at her stubbornness. It seemed that she and Abbie shared that trait, even if they weren't biologically linked. He walked over and took a seat next the to the tall bookshelf across from her, his back resting against the side of the wooden structure.

"Sweetheart," he tried as he reached for the girl's leg.

"Go 'way," she said sadly, as she pulled her leg away from him, and scooted closer to the corner.

He pulled his hand back, not wanting to intrude any further than she would willingly allow him to. He looked at the stuffed animal in his hand. "You know it's not nice to just throw your friends away when you are upset." He placed the stuffed animal next to the girl but she only threw it behind her.

He watched as she wiped at her face and his heart broke a little more, if that were possible. Between Macey's emotional state right now and he and Abbie's relationship the last few days, he couldn't be sure that his heart wasn't already split completely in two.

He reached for the bear again. "Welll now you've made him sad," he told her. The child didn't respond. "Is that why you're crying, Sweetheart? Are you sad?" Still she didn't answer, so he continued talking. "You know sometimes when we are sad, it helps to talk about it. Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," she cried again, because clearly her Daddy hadn't heard her the first time. "Go 'way."

"I'm sorry, but Daddy can't do do that," he told her. "You're my little girl and I love you. I love you so much, Sweetheart. You have to know that. That's why I can't go away, because I'm never going to leave you. Especially when you're sad."

"Then how come you don't wanna stay with us anymore?" she asked, the crying seeming to have ceased for now.

Ichabod looked at the child, finally putting the pieces together of why the child had been behaving so oddly lately. And he was wrong. His heart wasn't completely split in two before, but it was now. He took a second to compose himself.

"I do want to stay with you," he told her. "It's just that your mother and I had a disagreement. And sometimes when adults have disagreements, they don't handle them in the best of ways. It's kind of like when Merida became angry with her mother, she wished for her to go away, but she never stopped loving her. In fact if I recall, she became quite sad at the thought of losing her forever."

The child shifted, and he watched as she sat up and looked at him. "So you and Mommy still love each other?"

He wouldn't lie. That question took him by surprise. He had long acknowledged his feelings for his partner, and knew quite well that it could be love. But he did not feel that she returned those feelings. "The most important thing is that we both love you, very, very much."

Macey looked at her father, trying to discern if he was telling the whole truth. She still felt that she was missing something, but she did believe that he and her mother loved her, and she was really overwhelmed and sad, so she got to her little feet as fast as she could and flung herself at him. She needed a hug.

"I love you, Daddy. Please promise not to leave again," she asked of him.

"I promise that that if I do leave, that I will always find my way back to you," he told her.

"And Mommy?" she asked.

Ichabod smiled, "And, your mother."

He sat there with his arms still around her, holding her close as she tucked herself close to him taking on the aggressive cuddler persona Abbie had given her. He placed a kiss on the top of her head and soon heard a pair of footsteps finding their way through the bookcases. He heard Jenny and Hawley talking and their voices sounded further away, so he figured it was either Abbie or a newcomer looking for them. He looked up as a figure appeared next to him and Macey turned to face her mother as well.

She looked down at them and a slew of conflicting emotions overcame her. Happiness because she loved seeing them like this. She thought it was sweet how much Macey loved Ichabod. In fact, she was sure given a little more time she would become a full blown Daddy's girl and Ichabod took pleasure in giving her every reason to do just that. But she was also sad because she had hurt them both as she was reminded by the somewhat sad blue eyes staring up at her as well as the tears that stained the girl's cheeks.

"Hi," she said softly, a sad and reluctant smile gracing her face.

Ichabod gave her a small smile and nodded. He just didn't have the strength right now to be as angry with her as he had been before. Macey just stared up at her, still a little sad and not sure if she was still in trouble or not. She knew she had been a bad girl, but there was a lot going on that she didn't understand and it made her sad and confused and she didn't know what to do with those feelings. She could also see that her mother had been crying and it seemed that she was trying her hardest not to start up again. That made her feel sad again.

"Mind if I join you?" Abbie said as she knelt facing Ichabod. She placed her hand on Macey's back and tried to give the girl a reassuring smile. Macey just stared at her.

She leaned in closer so her face was right in front of Macey's, sure that put her all up in Ichabod's personal space as well, but they had been closer…

"I'm sorry, Baby," she kissed the child's nose. "I'm so sorry." She pulled back and looked in the child's face and noticed that the girl had started playing with her hair. She smiled again, knowing that that meant Macey no longer wanted her to get away from her. Abbie placed another kiss on her nose and was about to pull completely away from them but was paralyzed by a set of bright blue eyes.

She was completely aware of how close they were from the beginning, but she hadn't expected him to continue to acknowledge her. She thought he would look away but he continued to stare at her, and she remained frozen. This was the closest they had been since before he left her house that morning.

All of a sudden it was like her breathing became ten times louder and heavier. And she was starting to feel a fire growing again in her lower belly. She wanted to crawl into his arms as well and spill everything that she was feeling for him, but she also wanted to just drag him back to her bedroom and screw his brains out, but she was also getting signals to run like hell.

Ichabod let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding. "Leftenant," he breathed.

And that was it, Abbie's lips crashed into his. It took him a few seconds, but he dropped the teddy bear from his hand and wrapped his arm around her waist pulling her closer into his side as he deepened the kiss. It was a firm but tender kiss, the kind that lovers would share when apologizing. They pulled away after a few seconds, both breathing a little heavier than they had been before and just stared at each other. Macey looked on wondering if this meant that they weren't angry with each other anymore.

"Sorry," Abbie said trying to move away. Ichabod took it as a sign that she was trying to run again and he tightened his grip on her causing her to lean back into him.

"Stay," he said simply. "Please." He knew that this meant nothing as far as Abbie's willingness to acknowledge her own feelings, but through her actions, she had inadvertently allowed him to get a glimpse of exactly what those feelings were. And he didn't feel as pessimistic about the possibility of getting a chance to explore something deeper with his partner at some point.

She nodded before readjusting herself and sitting next to him, their legs and shoulders touching. Macey then began trying to negotiate her way back into getting an ice cream cone, which she failed horribly at. So she settled on the promise that her father would be sleeping over for the time being.

* * *

**A/N: As always. I will come back and correct mistakes. But wait, I forgot to put this at the top. Do you know that Wes Craven got his idea for Nightmare on Elm Street from a story in the NY Times about Filipino boys dying in their sleep (which I have heard of this phenomenon but hadn't tied it to the Nightmare on Elm Street until tonight). But apparently one boy had a night mare, and after he woke up he told his parents that he couldn't go back to sleep because he just had a gut feeling he would die if he did. So he stayed up for three days and his dad had been giving him sleeping pills but he still managed to stay up. Finally he fell asleep and the parents were relieved. But then they heard a scream in the middle of the night so they went into his room and saw him thrashing around in the bed before he suddenly stopped and just died right there in front of them. Apparently the boy had been doing everything to stay awake, he had been hiding the sleeping pills his dad gave him and had a coffee pot hidden in his closet along with some other exaggerated methods for staying awake...smh. And this happened in real life. Now my more rational mind is saying this is a cardiac issue related to a gene more common in the Filipino population but of course my over active imagination is like why couldn't it have been Freddy. And now that you know he's going to get you too. And on top of that I can never go home again because my Uncles are telling ghost stories about shit that recently happened in my Mom's house. I can't with them, they need to keep stuff like that on a need to know cover. **

**Anyways Leave Reviews. I was going to ask what was you guys' favorite scary movies, but I spooked myself out as I realized that it's the infamous line from scream. And now I need a roommate. Wait Joey had a tear drop in dream warriors... I knew the kids in that one was gangsta but damn. LOL**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Okay let me just say I watched that long ass four hour documentary and survived!. Also Yemeron, just to drop the knowledge that I learned from that documentary on you. The little boy who played Gage on pet semetery also played Heather's (the girl who played Nancy in Nightmare on Elm Street) son in New nightmare. Also, as you probably know. The first one and new night mare was prob the best because those were the only ones Wes Craven's actually had a hand in. It wasn't supposed to be a series, but the only people who would do the script was new line, which was a start up company at the time so after they saw they could make money they wanted to bank on it. Then Freddy's dead was supposed to be the last one, but Wes made a comment and they felt bad for ruining his master piece (which they did) so they invited him so they invited him back to make it right and he was like how am I supposed to fix the shit ya'll done fucked up beyond all of my recognition. So he had to come up with a whole new theory which was how they came up with a reality type mix of Freddy in New Nightmare where he was stalking the actors and creators. Sigh. Yup. LOL. I did like dream warriors though, until the end. It was pretty legit but man those special affects are garbage. Oh, and after rewatching it, the parents on Pet Semetary were horrible parents, like bruh, they got two of yall and two kids. Ya'll not even outnumbered. That little bratty girl fell off that rusty ass tire swing they let her swing on (first mistake because no body checked it to test the rope or make sure there wasn't a poisonous spider in the tire or anything), then when she fell, they both run to her and leave the baby in the drive way near the road (?). I mean even the cat was looking like, Really ya'll? Really? Just gonna leave the baby by the road unattended. Okay let me stop because clearly I watch too many scary movies and if general movie commentating was a paid job, I'd be set.**

**Anyways, enjoy the chapter. **

* * *

Abbie closed the door and huffed. She rubbed her hands up and down her arms as she surveyed the area one more time. She did not want to be out here. She was freezing and the sun hadn't even come up yet. And to top it off, it was Christmas Eve. She loved Christmas Even even more than Christmas. And it would be her first as a mother, so all she honestly wanted to do was what she would normally do with her little girl. And that was stay inside of her warm house, cooking and watching Christmas movies while cuddled up on the couch as they drank hot chocolate, eggnog and snacked on some goodies that they only got to eat this time of the year. She wouldn't lie that she had been looking forward to the day, especially since she and Ichabod were back on good terms. They still hadn't had their talk but they were at least friends again.

"Are you pouting?" Ichabod asked, causing her head to turn in his direction.

He watched as the woman gave him a look. He knew that she didn't want to be out here, neither did he. He would much rather spend this time taking pleasure in the central heating at her place. Abbie had also voiced her distaste for having to leave her home at such an ungodly hour. But they needed that book. Fortunately they had found out where Katrina and Henry were keeping it. Unfortunately that was in Abraham's cabin with them. Which thankfully wasn't really that hard to get into since Katrina and Henry did most of their work during the night and they had scoped the place out to find a good time to break in and steal it. Unfortunately that time was four thirty in the morning.

"What? No," Abbie said, but he knew what he had seen, even if he had barely seen it in this darkness. "Now let's go. I wanna get back to my house and out of this snow as soon as possible."

Abbie started in the direction of the cabin and Ichabod, grabbed the bag from the back of the car and slung it across his shoulder before closing the trunk. He followed her.

By the time he caught up with her she was already lurking around the house, surveying the scene. She looked back and caught his eyes. "This way," she nodded for him to follow her.

"I think this back window is open a little," she told him. "I can get in but I'm gonna need a boost."

He would have offered going in himself but the way that the cabin was built up, the only way they would be able to get in would be if he hoisted Abbie up, as the window was even too far off of the ground for him to reach by himself.

"Alright," he told her. "Remember, get the book first, then the medallions. But if I give the signal you have to get out of there. The plan is completely aborted," he raised a brow at her.

"Yeah, yeah," she waved him off. "Just help me up. The sooner we get in, the sooner I can get out."

He stooped and held his hands out, and Abbie grabbed onto his shoulder and placed one foot in his hands, and he proceeded to stand, hoisting her up towards the window. She could just reach the window and tried to lift the seal a little bit more, but it was jammed.

"Shit," she mumbled to herself.

"What? What happened? What's the matter?" her partner's voice came from under her.

"The window's jammed," she said.

"Should we find another way in?"

"No, no, hang on," she said as she placed one hand on the ledge steadying herself, and using the other to dig into her coat pocket. "I think I've got something."

Ichabod looked up at her, and saw something flash in her hand. She then went to work on the window, so he placed his eyes back on the perimeter looking for the first sign of danger, so he could grab her and go.

"I need to get higher, Crane," she said looking down at him. "Stand up straight."

He rolled his eyes to himself. "I am standing up straight, Leftenant."

"Really?" she said in disbelief. "I thought you were taller than that. Well do something. I need a little more reach."

Ichabod smiled to himself as an idea came to his head. Abbie felt herself shifting, and almost let out a yelp when she felt his hand firmly grasp the left side of her ass, pushing her up further before the other hand claimed just as firm a grip on the right side.

"Is that better?" he asked looking up at her again.

"Yep," she said, seemingly a little distracted, but immediately began working at the window seal with the knife she had produced from her pocket.

It was comical almost. Ichabod had come to take pleasure in messing with Abbie these last few days, and he realized why Jenny often took the opportunities to do the same. Over the last few days he had been pushing his physical boundaries with her, just to see how she would respond. She always seemed to try to ignore them, but would get really flustered in the process. But it was fun for him to see the effect that he could have on her.

"Okay, I'm in," he heard as he felt her starting to move around. She crawled through the window and disappeared into the house. She stuck her head back out of the window. "I'll meet you back at this window." She was gone again and he turned his eyes back out into the woods, looking for any sign that the occupants of the cabin had returned or any other sign of danger.

She tracked carefully through the house, just in case Katrina had sat up any kind of magical booby traps. The place looked almost normal. Except for a few herbs and trinkets lying around, you would never guess that the people that lived there participated in dark magic or any type of magic for that matter.

"Get the book first," she reminded herself. "Now where would they put it?" she questioned no one in particular as she continued to search for the thing. It didn't take her very long to find it, and she cursed under her breath when she found no sign of the doubloons that went along with it. "Couldn't make this easy on me could you?"

She continued looking and she either must have lost track of time or she hadn't heard Ichabod's warning signal. Her phone vibrated and she pulled it from her pocket and saw a message from Ichabod in all caps, telling her to get out of the cabin.

She turned to go back to the window, but heard the doorknob jiggling. She realized that she had to cross back in front of the front door in order to get back to the window and she didn't want to take the chance of getting caught. She looked around for another escape route.

Ichabod watched, panicked, as Katrina and Henry entered the cabin, closing the door behind them, sealing themselves and Abbie inside.

"Ooh, no" he said as he turned to run back to the window he had just hoisted Abbie through. "Leftenant," he called softly. "Leftenant!" He waited a few seconds for her to come back to the window, when she didn't he ran around to the front door. He dropped the bag on the ground and grabbed his gun as well as the little sack that Mrs. Artigas had given him. He wasn't quite clear about what it did, but he would use it if he needed too.

He stood in front of the door and readied himself. He raised a hand to knock and as it was coming down he felt a body colliding with his, one hand grabbing the arm he was about to use to knock on the door. He looked down and saw Abbie. "Oh thank God, Abigail," he sighed with relief.

"How'd you get out?" he asked her.

"Another window," she told him before holding up the book, a smile coming to her face. He smiled back.

"Com'on," she said as she started back towards her car. He grabbed the bag and followed her quietly, Katrina and Henry being none the wiser that they were there, at least until they noticed that the book they had replaced the one they had taken with was a replica, but hopefully that wouldn't be for a while.

* * *

Abbie rubbed her hands together as she stood at Mrs. Artigas' front door. They had left Macey with the woman for the few hours they would be gone. Abbie smiled as she heard the woman coming to the door. The sun was just coming up and she was going to actually spend the day doing what she had planned, not to leave out a late run to the grocery store and some last minute gift buying, which she actually secretly liked. She liked the hustle and bustle of the holidays, especially these last couple of years since the holidays had actually started feeling like a time of celebration again.

The old lady opened the door, and smiled when she saw them. Mostly because she saw the smile on Abbie's face, and the content look on Ichabod's.

"Did you get it?" she asked.

Ichabod smiled himself as he held up the book.

"Oh, good," she told them, before lecturing them on keeping it safe and finding the other medallions. Abbie hadn't gotten a chance to grab them before she had to abort the plan, but they were in a better position than they were before so she guessed it was worth it, getting out of her bed so early.

She invited them in and went to get Macey, who came down the hallway rubbing her eyes, which were still shut causing the old lady to have to guide her to keep her from walking into the walls. The stuffed bear tucked beneath her cast.

Ichabod smiled. Abbie laughed, "Good morning, Baby. Are you still sleepy?" The girl responded by reaching blindly in the direction that she heard her mother's voice. Abbie picked her up and soon felt the weight of Macey's head on her shoulder.

The woman assured them that she was no problem as she had immediately fallen back to sleep and had slept the entire time. They thanked her and headed out.

"Did you have fun with Mrs. Artigas?" Abbie asked the sleeping child as she pulled Ichabod's coat closer around the girl for the short walk to her place.

"Mhm," Macey replied, drowsily, her eyes still closed. "We slept."

Abbie laughed again. Glad to see the child was still sleepy. That meant that she could probably get a few more hours in before having to get up.

* * *

Unfortunately, that didn't happen. Macey ended up wanting to watch cartoons, so that meant Ichabod and Abbie doing the same. Which Abbie figured since she was up anyways, she might as well make breakfast.

"Oh, I love this one. Yay!" Abbie stated as she jumped back on the couch with a bowl of homemade cinnamon waffle sticks and syrup and cinnamon walnut dipping sauces. Ichabod smiled at her. Abbie had advertised to anyone who would listen about how much she loved Christmas Eve and about how she planned to spend it.

She laughed at Macey's reaction, which was to laugh and hug her neck as the child was standing in the couch, as well as the look Ichabod gave her.

"What? I don't tell you anything when you get excited and run at things with your finger in the air prepared to give a lecture on it."

"I do not run at things with my…," he was about to finish, but the look of disbelief she gave him shut him up. He gave her a look that caused her to start laughing again.

"Com'on Crane, lighten up," she said as she nudged him in the arm. "It's Christmas Eve."

"Look, a snowman," Macey yelled excitedly in Abbie's ear as she took one arm from around the woman to point at the television screen.

"A snowman," Abbie said, mimicking the child's enthusiasm.

"Look Daddy, the snowman's singing," Macey said taking her arms from around her mother and wrapping them around her father.

"Yes, darling, I see," he started. "Which I don't understand why…,"

"Hey," Abbie stopped him. "Remember that talk we had about suspension of belief and stepping on people's happiness?"

Again, Ichabod raised an eyebrow and gave Abbie a look.

"Daddy," Macey started as she leaned more into Ichabod, "are you being a crank-y-pants?" she said breaking the words down some, which only made Abbie more amused as she burst into laughter.

"I am not," he said as he grabbed her and began tickling her. "You take that back."

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Macey quickly apologized, and he returned her upright.

It wasn't until the child grabbed for one of the waffle sticks that he noticed that Abbie was still laughing. "Really Abigail," he said sounding offended. This caused Abbie to laugh even harder.

"Mommy's tickle box is broken," Macey stated.

Ichabod raised his eyebrow at her. "Do you know how to fix tickle boxes?"

The girl smiled before lunging for her mother, and began trying to tickle her.

"Macey, no," Abbie said playfully as she tried to stop laughing and went to grab for the child's wiggling little fingers. Before she could grab her though, she felt her arms being restrained and noticed Ichabod coming closer to her before telling Macey to, "Get her."

"Oh my god!," Abbie screamed as she laughed out loud, more at Macey's incessant giggling than anything, in fact that the girl was not an effective tickler. "Crane, I am going to hurt you. Let me up."

"I believe that I am enjoying this far to much to stop, Leftenant," he told her.

"Crane!" Abbie yelled, with a huge smile as Macey had actually been able to find a somewhat ticklish spot on her side.

Suddenly the doorbell rang. "Let me up. It's probably Jenn and Hawley."

Ichabod didn't let go, but Macey did manage to slip from between them, as she ran to the door screaming Jenn and Hawley's name. They heard Jenn and Hawley making just as much noise as the girl on the other side of the door.

Abbie hadn't noticed their position until after Macey disappeared around the corner. She had been lying down partially when they attacked her. So now with Macey gone from straddling her stomach, Ichabod was lying between her legs. His hands next to her head where they were pending her hands down.

She saw the playful smile disappear from his face and a thoughtful, but confused look came over him as he too noticed their position. A smile came to her face. She would be lying if she said that she didn't notice Ichabod flirting with her more than normally. And she would be lying even more if she said that didn't maker her blush and uncomfortable in a good way. She also found herself flirting back with him at times. They still hadn't had their talk and she still hadn't figured it out for herself yet, but none the less she had allowed herself to start treading those dangerous waters. She kicked herself everytime she thought about the possibility of hurting her friend by doing this, but something inside of her couldn't help it.

"You might wanna get up before you start something neither of us are prepared to finish," she said playfully but with air about it that left no doubt that she was flirting with him

His eyes quickly darted to her face, seriously look on his face that changed to a raised eyebrow and a smirk. She countered with her own raised eyebrow letting him know her challenge was a very serious one indeed.

"Hey guys I," Jenny walked in the room causing Ichabod to jump to a standing position, letting go of Abbie's wrists. His hands rested at his sides like he had just been challenged to a quick draw duel. Abbie quickly swung her legs around into a sitting position.

She caught Macey as the girl jumped into her arms. "Hey, what's up?" she tried to play it off ,but she knew they had been caught by the way their guests were looking at them.

"We were trying to fix Mommy's tickle box," Macey said.

"He's going to tickle her box, alright," Jenny whispered under her breath, but Abbie and Ichabod heard it. Ichabod flushed red, as the two mischievous lovers had purposefully taught him keywords that could be used as sexual innuendos just so he could be appropriately embarrassed and uncomfortable when they used them on him.

"Com'on let's go put this away," Abbie said as she stood up and grabbed Jenny's arm, leading her to the kitchen. Jenny had done the grocery shopping for Christmas dinner and had agreed to go out and do her late Christmas shopping earlier so she could come home and babysit so Abbie could go and do her shopping later, being that she had a four year old she had to hide gifts from. They then planned to go back to the the cabin wrap them, store them in her car and put them under the tree after Macey fell asleep. And though she had been being bratty the last few days, Abbie couldn't help but to go overboard since this was her first Christmas with a kid.

"Did you tell Hawley about me sleeping with Ichabod?" Abbie asked her once they were out of ear shot of the two guys and the four year old.

"No, of course not," Jenny said. Abbie gave her a look. "Okay those other times were different," Jenny defended. "I know this is really bugging you. So, I didn't say anything, promise."

"Can we go outside and build a snowman?" Macey came hurdling into the kitchen, Hawley behind her with a big grin on his face. Jenny gasped and turned to Jenny, her expression matching Hawley's.

"That's sounds like an awesome idea," she said, grabbing her sister's hand. "Com'on Abbs."

Abbie rolled her eyes but smiled anyway. Of course she wanted to go outside and play in the snow. It had finally stopped snowing, so there was a whole bunch of the good snow and all the neighborhood kids were starting to trickle out into their yards. She grabbed Macey, who was making it for the door and started to put the appropriate dress on the girl. She let her keep the pajamas on since they were pretty warm but placed her coat, a hat and some gloves on the girl before allowing her to out.

45mins later

"It keeps falling down because you guys' base sucks," Jenny informed Ichabod and Hawley. They had been tasked with building the base of the snowman while she Abbie and Macey started on the middle section, though Macey had abandoned her idea a while ago and decided to make snow angels and build snow castles in various places in the yard.

"You think you can do it better?" Hawley retorted.

"Yeah," Jenny replied as she started showing them how the make the top of the bottom flatter so the middle part could be more stable.

Abbie warned Macey to be careful about climbing the small snowdrift near the tree before going back to helping with the snow man.

"Look Mommy, a squirrel," Macey said a few minutes later.

Abbie turned around to check on the girl again. "Don't get too close to him." She had barely gotten the sentence out of her mouth. "Mace watch out." She said but it was too late as the squirrel jumped off of one of the branches, causing it to shake and a little fluff of snow to fall on the girl. They all looked at her, waiting to see her reaction. They knew it could go one of two ways. They realized which way it was going to go when Macey looked over at Abbie, her bottom lip jutting out and tears threatening to overflow from her big brown eyes.

"Aww, Baby," Abbie said, trying not to laugh. "Come here." She got up from where she was kneeling in the snow and started towards the girl. "Whoa, Mace be careful." But it was too late as the girl was rolling down the small hill. She landed on her stomach and waited a second before starting to sob. They were all laughing but trying to hide it since the child was upset. It was obvious she hadn't hurt herself but it was pretty commical.

"Com'on, Bug," Abbie said as she lifted the child from the snow. "You need a nap. You just can't keep it together anymore, can you?" She knew that the child's sleeping pattern had been suffering over the winter break and the multiple sleep disturbances earlier in the morning had the child tired. She had noticed it earlier but figured she would let the girl completely tire herself out before putting her down for a nap. "I think we're done for the day," Abbie said as she passed the three other adults with the crying child in her arm.

"Yeah, I'm done too," Jenny said getting up. "My fingers are starting to freeze. Plus you guys suck at this."

"I too am growing tired of this," Ichabod said as he stood from kneeling in the snow. "This should not be this hard."

"Yeah, screw this," Hawley added.

Abbie was almost through the door when she heard a thud. She turned around to see Hawley covered in snow and a group of neighborhood teenagers standing across the street. The blond man turned to face the group of laughing children as they all did.

"You little bastards," Hawley yelled, causing Jen to scold him. "What? Babe, they just hit me with a snowball?" He held his hands out as if he had no other choice but to refer to at least, name calling.

"What are you going to do about it? You fake Matthew McConaughey," one of them yelled and the rest of them started laughing. "You and Benedict Arnold gonna tell my mom?"

The smile dropped completely from Abbie's face as she saw Ichabod's spine straighten and she thought he would have whiplash from how quickly his head snapped in their direction. Ichabod knew that the kid was just calling out a random historical figure, but she also knew that Ichabod took it more personally than he should have, and mostly not for the reasons the kid knew about. It was because the man seemed to have a personal opinion about everyone from his past, and his opinion of Benedict Arnold was less than favorable, even without the infamous betrayal.

"Let's get those fuckers," Hawley said giving the man a pleading look to help him pelt the kids with snowballs.

Abbie was about to tell them both to just come in the house, but Macey interrupted with a cry saying she had ice down her shirt. "I don't have time for this," she said going in the house.

Jenny rolled her eyes, "Whatever." She would leave the two grown men to fight in the street with children, after all, they seemed to fit in very well.

Abbie went in and changed Macey's pajamas before settling the girl on the couch with her pillow, teddy bear and favorite blanket. She then helped Jenn prepare a couple of pies and some cookies for the following day, which they were probably going to eat half of that night. Macey had fallen asleep by then and she figured it would be a good time to head out to do their Christmas shopping. She had to pull Ichabod away from his strategically planned snowball fight, unfortunately leaving Hawley alone with the rest of the younger kids they had recruiting from the neighborhood. She had to threaten leaving him twice before he finally got in the car.

The spent a few hours shopping. They had first shopped together for everyone else's gifts including Macey's. Surprisingly Ichabod wanted to buy the girl even more than what she did. She had to remind him that Jenn and Hawley had bought her a whole bunch of stuff too. He than gave her a suspicious look before informing her that he was going to the men's room and to text if she needed him. She smirked at him and told him that that was a good thing and that she was going to go look for his gift as well.

There was about two hours left of daylight when by the time they had finished shopping, gone to the cabin to wrap everything and were ready to head back to her place. Her phone started ringing as she climbed in the front seat. She looked at it and saw that it was Luke, but answered anyway. They seemed to be getting along a little bit better as friends.

"Hey, what's up?" she said as she started the car up. The man greeted her and asked how she was doing before stating that he was just calling and checking to make sure that it was still okay for him to come over. They always spent the holiday togethers at Corbin's, even before they started dating seriously. She had just forgotten that she had told him that he could stop by tonight and come back tomorrow for Christmas dinner. Yup, she totally forgot about that, but she didn't turn him away, because she was trying to be a good friend. He had no family in town, and he wasn't especially close with the family that he did have in other states. Which was why he chose to spend his holidays at home in Sleepy Hollow.

She hung up the phone and placed it in the console between them. "Luke's coming over tonight," she continued looking straight ahead but saw his head snap towards her through her side view. She also so the look of disbelief he was giving her. "And he's coming for Christmas dinner tomorrow."

He continued to stare at her, she continued to stare at the road. When he saw that she wasn't going to take the conversation where it needed to go, he decided to speak again. "Leftenant, I," he tried, but she interrupted him.

"And we are all going to be on our best behaviors and be nice to him, because that's what friends do for each other, especially on the holidays when they have nowhere else to go. Isn't it?" she said as she turned and gave him a sarcastic smile.

He as usual lifted his eyebrow and frowned deeply, and she noticed just how much Macey was picking up Ichabod's negative facial expressions.

She couldn't help but to laugh when he, in perfect five year old form, turned to the window and folded his arms. He waited for a beat before replying, "I don't like him."

* * *

**A/N: I like Pandora, she's got potential.I think I like her too much though, we'll see how this plays out. I may or may not be routing for her to turn into a good bad girl. I see her and Ichabod always arguing, her taunting him and always getting the better of him and Abbie having to play mediator though. Not like the Katrina sitch though. Ichabbie is still endgame, (blank glare at writers and producers). Also I realize professionalism gives me anxiety. I need to be able to curse people out at work without being in risk of losing my job. I also need to be able to throw shit on the floor and walk out with both my middle fingers in the air.**

**Sigh. I hope you guys like this chapter because I don't really know how I feel about it. I'm getting stuck again, so feel free to through out some ideas of what you want to see when you review. Because you're gonna review right?**


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: Next chapter, hope you enjoy. I am going to go finish proof reading the last chapter, so this one will probably be proof read tomorrow. Hopefully.

* * *

"Oh," Ichabod said with an air of recognition to his voice. "It's something like harpaston."

He smiled, delighted with himself that he was able to relate something to his past to the thing that his new found friend in this century was trying to use to relate to him. His smile disappeared when he glanced over and saw Hawley giving him a weird look.

"Sure," the blond man responded. He had no idea with harpaston was but he made a mental note to look it up. After all, he liked Ichabod. He wanted to be able to understand him when they talked like this.

They were watching football, Hawley trying to explain to the colonial just what was going on. Abbie and Jenn were in Abbie's bedroom talking about something they didn't want them to hear, and Macey was sitting in the middle of the living room floor, currently entertaining herself while intermittently pulling him or Ichabod into her conversation with her, her stuffed animal, and her imaginary friends.

Suddenly the doorbell rang and Ichabod got up to answer the door but Abbie beat him to it as she hurried from down the hall and ran past the entrance to the living room and into the foyer. He saw Ichabod's face morph into a frown and went back to watching television. He heard Abbie greeting someone but didn't pay much mind to it until Luke walked in and placed his a hand on his shoulder.

"What's up man? What game are you watching?" Luke greeted.

"Hey man," Hawley said with a dumbfounded look. He wasn't expecting this to be their visitor. He glanced at his friend and almost started laughing at the look on Ichabod's face. "Uh, Green Bay and Indianapolis."

"Aww, man this game's gonna be good," the newest visitor then turned his attentions to the child in the middle of the room. "Hey Macey, I bought you a present," he said drawing everyone's attention to box covered in shiny wrapping paper that he had brought in with him.

The girl only looked at the man as did Ichabod, though Macey's face read more of unsureness than resentment. Hawley just slowly turned back towards the television, hoping to become invisible to everyone in the room while still getting to watch his football game. It was a little awkward being that the girl didn't run over and grab the gift or appear remotely excited as most children would have.

"Macey, what do you say?" Abbie's voice came soft and patient.

The girl looked at her mother a second before looking down at the floor.

"Mace," came Abbie's voice again. "Luke bought you a present what do you say?"

She didn't want to say anything. She didn't really know this guy and she wasn't really interested in getting to know him. She just wanted him to go away. But she knew she would get in trouble if she didn't respond accordingly. It seems that ever since she had pushed her Uncle Hawley and yelled at her mommy and told her daddy to go away, they had been on her case about being nice and being mindful of other people's feelings. She had apologized to her Uncle, and she really was sorry, but she didn't know this guy. She wasn't sure if she should be his friend yet. But she knew she would get in trouble if she didn't respond.

"Mace?" Abbie said once more.

She looked at her mother before looking back at the man then at the box in his hand. "Thank you," she said softly as she looked back down at the floor.

Luke grinned widely at the girl, "Aw, you're welcome Sweetie. Here," he said extending the box in the child's direction as she had made no effort to actually come and retrieve the package from him.

She really wanted that present, and she had already said thanks for it which she really didn't want to, so she had earned it. She got up from the floor and took the present from the man's hand, immediately turning and running to Hawley with the box as he was the closest adult that she trusted. She would actually have to pass by Luke to get to either Abbie or Ichabod.

"Whatcha got there, Munchkin," Hawley said as he scooped the child up onto his lap, pretending to not have noticed the awkward tension that was in the room.

Abbie smiled at what she thought was her daughter's shyness. "Com'on," she said beckoning Luke. "I'll show you where the good stuff is. We've got spiked eggnog."

Luke smiled as he followed her into the kitchen. Ichabod's eyes followed them as Jenny came from down the hall.

"What's Luke doing her?" she asked nonchalantly.

"I am afraid I can offer no words as I too seek the answer to your inquiries," he told her.

"Aunt Jenny, look," Macey said running up to her with the box. Back to her talkative self now that the man was no longer in the room. "I got another presents."

"You did," Jenny said as she stooped to scoop the child up. "I don't know. You think you're going to have enough room under the tree with all the presents Santa's going to bring you tonight?"

"Mhm," she nodded. "Can I open this one?"

"You're going to have to ask your Mom," Jenny told her.

The little girl was smart. She knew that her Dad's permission was equal to her mom's and that he was more likely to tell her yes. Sure enough she got the answer she wanted.

"Abbie," Jenny called out the second he said yes. He gave her a look, letting her know he was not pleased with her betrayal. She smiled and finished. "Ichabod's letting Macey open her gifts." The child gave her aunt a look letting her know that she was not pleased as well.

"Macey," Abbie called from the kitchen.

"But Daddy said I could open it," she said with the slightest tremble in her voice.

"He did?" Abbie called back. "Daddy's just a big ol' sucker for you, isn't he?"

Jenny laughed at Ichabod's face before confirming that the girl could indeed open the gift. Jenny put the girl back on the floor and she immediately set the box down and started tearing the paper off.

Abbie came into the hallway and smiled as she saw wrapping paper flying everywhere. "It's a bracelet maker!" she said with a big smile on her face.

"You're gonna have fun cleaning that up, Sis," Jenny said as she saw all the beads, string, glitter and other little nick-knacks in the box.

Ichabod smiled at the child's excitement as well, until Abbie told her to tell the man thank you. Macey grabbed Jenny's hand pulling her back into the living room so she could help her make her Daddy a bracelet.

Luke and Abbie had picked up another conversation and Ichabod gave them a look before going back into the living room. He really didn't want Luke there. He tried to ignore them and get back into the game but it was hard since they were standing in entryway of the living room. His attention continued to drift back over to them and he could see Abbie laughing at whatever Luke had just said. He didn't turn their way though until he saw Luke raise his hand and gently brush a few strands of hair behind Abbie's ear. His hand lingered and Abbie gave a polite smile before she turned her head slightly and locked eyes with Ichabod.

The smile immediately disappeared from her face and she took a half step back so that Luke was no longer touching her.

"Uhh," she stated, thrown a little off guard after finding that Ichabod had just witnessed that event between her and Luke. Of course, as usual, she had done nothing that she could think of to lead Luke on into showing that type of physical affection. But she had gotten so accustomed to it, even after the break up, that she usually let him slide. Having Ichabod there, now, made her feel uneasy about it.

He watched still as she pointed Luke into the living room before looking at him once more, a somewhat guilty expression, then disappearing into the kitchen.

It wasn't until later on that night that Ichabod found himself alone in the same room with Luke. He had come to retrieve the rest of the eggnog and other adult beverages as Macey was now asleep, and Jenny had claimed that it was time for the real party to start. Which Abbie had informed him that that only meant getting slightly more drunk and watching scary Christmas movies instead of more family friendly ones.

He had just picked up the tequila when the shorter man entered the room.

"Need any help?" he asked, causing Ichabod to pause and turn towards him.

"No. No, I think I can manage," Ichabod said trying to sound somewhat friendly.

"That's funny," Luke continued as he leaned on the counter across from the one where Ichabod stood. "I didn't think you'd be here tonight."

"Where else would I be?" Ichabod asked, not really sure why the man was talking to him.

"Mmm," Luke shrugged smugly. "Your wife, your kid."

Ichabod squinted slightly, trying to see where Luke was trying to go with the line of conversation he had chosen.

"I am with my child," he told him. Yes he was aware of Henry's existence, but he had never come to know him as such. He surely didn't share the deep and sometimes slightly overwhelming paternal sentiments that he had for his daughter with the older gentlemen. As far as he was concerned Macey was his only child. He may have been a father once to an infant son, but that child had died long, long ago. And the man knew the situation with his wife soo…

"And let me guess," Luke continued. "You think Abbie comes included in that. Like a package deal."

Ichabod opened his mouth to reply, but shut it again. He tilted his head to the side and furrowed his brow. "The leftenant and I are partners, yes, if that's what you aim to imply."

Luke laughed pompously, "Okay let me just cut to the point," he said setting his beer down on the counter. "Get over Abbie. It's not gonna happen," he said causing Ichabod to have an 'ah ha' moment. He knew the man had been hinting at something, in hindsight it was obvious what that something was. Luke continued. "I know her."

"I believe that Abigail is well capable of stating what she does and does not want," he stated matter of factly.

"And you think that she wants you?" Luke said condescendingly. "The guy with no job, no house, no...nothing. You don't have anything that's of value today, in the here and now. You can't even get a real job. And you think that Abbie would want you? That you could give her what she deserves."

Ichabod just looked at the man before turning his eyes towards the floor. Luke could see that he was getting to him so he continued. He wanted to get his point across.

"You know she was saving to buy a house before you popped up. She had a plan. She was going to go to Quantico, join the FBI, buy a place in DC. She wanted out of here and you're doing nothing but holding her back."

Ichabod knew what the man was trying to do. It didn't stop him from feeling like crap, but still he knew the man's motives.

"Is that why she did not include you in her plans," he replied. "Where you holding her back?"

He could see the smug look disappear from the man's face as anger took over. Luke stood from leaning on the counter. Ichabod could feel his body readying for a confrontation.

That was until Abbie stuck her head in the door. "Hey," she said happily, expecting to only find Ichabod in the kitchen. She turned to Luke and noticed that his face was slightly red and he was staring menacingly at Ichabod who seemed to be willingly engaging him in this stare off. She looked between the two men for a second before walking up to Ichabod and grabbing the tequila.

"Com'on," she said purposefully placing herself between the men. She stood directly in front of Ichabod looking up at him and causing him to break eye contact with Luke and look down at her. "Macey's asleep, and I'm going to need this if I'm going to put up with my sister's foolishness all night." She paused for a second, noticing the distant look in his eyes. The sad smile he gave her before solemnly replying, "Of course," and walking out of the kitchen let her know that whatever they had been talking about did not have him in a cheery mood.

She turned to Luke, a little more curious now. "What were you guy's talking about?"

"Nothing," he replied coldly before grabbing his beer and following the taller man into the living room.

Abbie took a deep breath and blew it out before joining them with the tequila.

* * *

She was glad she had chosen to have that second drink when they decided to open one present each. Honestly, she wished she would have had a third.

"Oh, oh, oh, open mine," Jenny said happily as she crawled over to the tree searching for her present to Ichabod.

"I guess I'll be opening Miss Jenny's then," he said causing Hawley and Abbie to laugh.

"Don't start your shit Icky," Jenny told him as she found the box and crawled back to her spot on the floor. She handed the box to him before folding her legs in front of her. "Every time you start drinking, you start with that Miss Jenny crap."

He smiled as he began carefully unwrapping the gift.

"Hurry up," Jenny said as she reached over to help tear the rest of the paper off.

"Damn, Babe," Hawley laughed. "Give him a chance."

Jenny looked at him and grinned giddily. "You're going to love this. It's so good."

"What did she do?" Abbie asked Hawley. To which he replied he didn't know and that he wasn't with her when she bought it. Though he was excited to see what it was after seeing her reaction.

Ichabod slid his long fingers under and around the edges of the box in order to open it. He pulled the top off and pulled the thin sheet of paper back, a strange look overtaking his face.

"What is it?" Abbie asked, her and Hawley craning their necks to try and see inside the box. Ichabod reached in and pulled a sheer piece of material out. He hooked his fingers in the two scraps and let the rest of the material fall.

"What the hell?" Hawley asked with an amused smile. He knew there had to be a reason to his lover's gift. The alcohol was just keeping him from figuring it out.

"Oh," Ichabod said, confusion written all over his face. "I'm afraid you may have labeled this one incorrectly."

"Naw, it's yours," Jenny said taking another sip from her cup.

Ichabod dropped one of the straps from his hand and used the free hand to pick up the remaining piece of fabric which was a matching pair of small, sheer boycut shorts.

"Well, thank you, but," Ichabod said looking at the woman, wondering if she had gone shopping drunk, "I'm afraid it's not my size."

"No," Jenny said with a satisfied smile, "But it's Abbie's"

Ichabod's eyes grew wide as he looked at the woman. Luke's mouth fell open and a look of horror overcame Abbie's face. Hawley was so deep into his laugh that he wasn't making a sound but was turning almost as red as Ichabod was at the moment.

Ichabod turned his eyes back to the garments in his hand, his eyes skimming the fabric and he couldn't help but to picture it covering, though barely, his partner's soft, warm succulent mahogany skin. He swallowed the lump in his throat.

Abbie looked at Jenny who was now laid flat out on the floor staring up at the ceiling laughing, then to Ichabod who continued to visually examine the gift, a pensive look on his face.

Abbie crawled to the end of the couch which was next to the chair where Ichabod was sitting. She reached over and snatched the material from his hands. "Give me this," she proceeded to put the gift back in the box before closing it sloppily and shoving it at Jenny.

"That was brilliant," Hawley said.

Luke's face grew red again and he started downing his beer a little faster. Ichabod just sat there, trying to regain some composure, willing his manhood not to respond to the thoughts that were now running through his mind. Abbie chugged the rest of her drink before refilling her cup and declaring that the gifting session was done and popping Black Christmas into the DVD player.

* * *

"Because," he heard Abbie's voice right before she walked through the bedroom door. "Aunt Jenny and Uncle Hawley are going to sleep in your bed. And you," she said with a grunt as she lifted the child a little more to place her on the bed, "are going to sleep in here with Daddy and me."

Ichabod smiled at her words as he watched the child give a tired yawn and rub at her eyes. "M'kay," she replied as she rolled onto her stomach. She scooted to the edge of the bed and Abbie went into the bathroom to put her hair up.

Ichabod slid under the covers as he saw Abbie coming back into the bedroom. She tapped the child on the shoulder. "Com'on Baby, scoot."

"I don't wanna sleep in the middle. I get squished," she replied opening her eyes to look at her mother.

"Well where am I supposed to sleep then?" Abbie asked her.

The child thought for a moment before reaching her little hand back and pointing at her father. "Daddy can sleep in the middle."

"He most certainly cannot," he said lightly pushing the girl's hand back towards her, causing her to giggle. "Every time I sleep in the middle...well actually I don't sleep when I'm in the middle. Somehow I always end up with bodies on top of me and hair in my mouth."

"But I don't wanna sleep in the middle," Macey said rolling on her back and looking at him.

"Alright, forget it," Abbie said putting both hands up in the air. She wasn't in the mood to listen to this. "I'll sleep in the middle." She crawled over Macey and settled herself under the covers. "There. Happy?" she said looking up at Ichabod as Macey had already turned around and began scooting her little body into Abbie's side.

"Indeed," he said lying back on the pillow.

They laid there for a moment, each trying to get comfortable with being in the same bed again. Everyone had been too drunk to drive, so her sister and her lover were crashing in her daughter's room and Luke was bunking on her couch. That made her think. He had been acting a little strange since she had seen him and Luke in the kitchen, even more so than usual.

"Hey, what were you and Luke talking about earlier in the kitchen?" she asked him.

He looked at her, studying her face and remembering what the man had said to him. He didn't feel comfortable bringing it up with her, in fact, he was embarrassed to do so. "Nothing. Just asking if there was anything pertaining to our mission that he could help with."

Abbie looked at him for a moment, She knew he was lying. "Hm," she said eyeing him. "You sure?"

He did that thing where he looked at her then down then repeated the motion quickly, "Yeah."

He then turned his back to her, not wanting her to probe any further. "Goodnight Leftenant."

She sighed and rolled the opposite way, wrapping her arm around the girl. "Goodnight, Crankypants Crane."

She then started laughing, which prompted an, "O' for crying out loud," from him, which only caused her to laugh harder.

* * *

She didn't know what time it was, but she was in a deep sleep when a tapping starting to break into the awesome sleep she was having. She took in a breath and blew it out, hoping that the noise would stop and she could go back to sleep because it was some really good sleep and she was really warm. She could feel the chill in the air coming from the windows contrasting with the warmness that she felt all around her. The knocking continued and she felt Macey's soft curls shifting under her chin as well as a large hand planted firmly on her bare stomach where her shirt had ridden up throughout the night, pulling her back into a warm solid surface. Macey turned in her arms causing her eyelids to flutter open.

She looked down and saw that the child was still asleep and then felt warm shallow breaths against her neck, which she assumed were coming from Ichabod. Her previous reaction would have been to wake him up and ask him what he was doing, but she was really comfortable. She also had come to allow herself to appreciate the feel of his body against hers, after their little tryst that they had. She would be lying if she said she didn't entertain Jenny's idea of becoming fuck buddies, because the sex was mind blowing. She heard that noise again and realized that it was someone knocking on her bedroom door. She had almost forgotten that they had house guests.

"Come in," she said hoarsely, as she took the hand that was wrapped around Macey to wipe the sleep from her eyes.

Slowly the door creaked open to reveal Luke standing there. The look on his face showed that he was not pleased with what he was seeing, but Abbie was still a little too sleepy to notice or care.

"Hey," she said, placing her arm back around the child, rubbing her hand up and down her back. "What's up."

"Uhh, nothing," Luke said, trying to recover from the shock of seeing his ex girlfriend who he had one day wished to marry cuddled up in the bed with another man and a kid that wasn't his. He forced a smile to his face. "I was just letting you know that I was gonna head out. Get a change of clothes," he said.

" 'Kay," she said closing her eyes back. "You still coming back for dinner, right?"

"Yeah, sure," he said before closing the door back and leaving.

She was preparing to fall back asleep until she heard her name being called in the form of Mommy.

"What baby?" she asked.

"Is it Christmas?" Well so much for sleep she thought. She knew where this was going.

"It sure is," she replied with a knowing smile.

"Can I open my presents now?" Macey got to the point.

"Sure, but we have to make sure Aunt Jenny and Uncle Hawley are awake before we do," before she could finish the sentence she felt the child bolt up and start scooting closer to the edge of the bed before stating she was going to go check.

She smiled knowing that 'checking' meant the girl was going to go wake them if they were still asleep. She felt Ichabod sigh against the back of her neck before his thumb started tracing small circles around her belly button. He then muttered something about locking the door and placing pillows over their head so they could get a few more winks of sleep. She laughed, but before they could put that plan into action, Macey came running back through the door, throwing herself on Abbie's bed.

"They're up, Mommy com'on. Com'on, Mommy," they child repeated pulling on her mother's arm.

"Okay, I'm coming," Abbie said as she got out of bed and went over to grab her robe. She noted that Ichabod hadn't budged. "We have to wait for Daddy to wake up too," she told the child, to which she responded by climbing on the bed and shaking him before repeating that it was time to wake up so she could open her presents. Soon they were all down stairs with the child being the center of attention as they allowed her to open all of her presents first before opening their own.

* * *

Ichabod had just finished putting Macey to bed while Abbie was in the kitchen putting away the last of the drying dishes. Their house guests were gone and again it was just the three of them. He walked into the entrance of the living room and saw that Abbie was just coming out of the kitchen. They shared a look before they both took off towards the chair. They reached it at the same time and attempted to sit. Ichabod's larger frame giving him an advantage, but Abbie's curvier hips refusing to be out done. The chair was the most comfortable seat in the house and a silent feud had been brewing over it. If one of them were sitting there and got up to go do something, they would often find that the other had taken the seat upon returning.

"Crane," Abbie said in a playful voice that also let him know she thought he was being ridiculous.

"I am not moving, Leftenant," he told her as he sat back in the chair, folding his arms.

"Well neither am I," she said grabbing the remote control off of the end table. She then placed herself diagonally and threw her legs across his, placing her back against the armrest. He looked at her, amused with the way she just decided to make him a part of the furniture and turned back to the television.

They sat in comfortable silence for a while. The house was finally silent again, back to just the three of them. He kind of liked having more people in the house. It was busier and made it feel warmer and more welcoming, and he could see why Abbie liked Christmas Eve more than Christmas. He had asked her why she liked the eve of the holiday more than the holiday itself and she had told him that because a part of her dreaded Christmas night. It signaled the end of the holiday season for the most part and her spending time with her family, and he could see that now. He liked it when it was just the three of them, but he didn't mind the houseful either, minus Luke of course. Thankfully the man hadn't bothered to show back up for Christmas dinner. Speaking of the man.

"What were your plans, Leftenant, before you discovered your faith of becoming a witness?" he asked her.

"Mm, why?" Abbie asked. She immediately knew where this question had come from. Something that was bothering Ichabod, an insecurity Luke had successfully poked at. Ichabod hadn't told her, but he had confided in Hawley, who had told Jenny, who of course had told her big sister.

He gave a dumbfounded look. "No reason. I was simply," she interrupted him.

"Did Luke say something to you?" she asked him.

Ichabod instantly knew that Hawley had ratted him out. She continued, "Look, Crane, don't worry about Luke. He's just being an asshole. For some reason, he has this fantasy stuck in his head, which I don't even know why. He doesn't even want to leave Sleepy Hollow."

"But you do," Ichabod replied. "And I've derailed your plans of escape."

"No,"she told him. "The impending apocalypse has. Believe me," she said standing up as she heard Macey calling for her, "if I had nearly as big a problem with this as Luke implied, you would have known about it."

It was true. She had come to accept this as part of her role as the modern witness. How else did the people that planned this expect the out of time witness manage in the here and now. They sure hadn't left them with any other options. Soon she was coming back downstairs as the girl just needed to be coaxed back to sleep after a mildly bad dream, again a dog eating one of her dolls. She stopped at the entrance of the living room, studying her partner as he seemed to be lost in his own thoughts and had not noticed that she'd arrived. She padded over and took up residence in her previous spot, which was a little more on his lap as he had let his man spread take over in her brief absence.

He allowed her to position herself comfortably before one arm came to rest behind her on the armrest and the other lay across her legs. "You know I can slug him for you if you want," she offered.

He gave her a sad smile and she smiled back as he studied her. She played with the lone pearl on the silver necklace he had given her as a gift and his smile brightened at seeing this. He was glad that she liked his gift. She had originally marveled over how beautiful it was and the thought put into it as well as scolded him and told him that he couldn't afford it, but after he informed her that he would not take it back she decided to keep it. After all, it was a small price to pay considering everything that she had given him. She had given him a new life. In a world where he had no one and nothing, she had become his everything. She was this amazing and beautiful creature, and he was in love with her. Irresistibly so, as he found his face inching closer towards hers. He didn't know how she would react, but he continued towards her because he wanted to kiss her, so he would just have to take the chance of her jumping out of his lap and pushing him away.

She didn't know when he had started coming closer to her, or when her body had started to become more alive in anticipation of him doing so. He paused right before their lips touched and she let out a breath that she had been holding, giving him the go ahead that she would indeed not run, from this kiss anyways. He leaned forward a little more and pressed his lips to hers.

The kiss started out slow and tender, but quickly grew more feverish, Abbie entangling her fingers in his hair as he pulled her onto his lap. She moaned into his mouth when he grabbed a hold of her waist and pressed her bottom down onto his hardening member. She smiled into the kiss, appreciating that fact that he could just communicate what he wanted without trying to manipulate her into it. She hated when guys did that, when most of their four play wasn't even that good to successfully pull of a seduction in the first place.

She began rocking slowly against his clothed manhood and his hands slipped down to her backside, making their way underneath the small shorts she had on. She didn't remember when her fingers had started pulling at the hem of his shirt, but she figured it was most likely when he palmed her bare ass cheeks. Something about that always made her go wild. She was proud of her hindquarters, as he would likely call them, and knew that it was of the healthier variety, and of the men she had come across, none of them had had the palm span to do what Ichabod had just done. Soon his shirt was off, and somehow with those long nimble fingers, he had managed to start pulling her shorts down. He wrapped one arm around her, as he bit down on her neck eliciting a small cry from her, then proceeded to lift her off of him slightly as he used to other hand to slide the shorts past her knees. The shorts seemed to fall the rest of the way off, as they ended up on the floor and she end up back in Ichabods lap, now disrobed from the waist down.

He was skilled, she thought, and she almost wished that she had put on more clothes to make this a little harder for him. She quickly refuted that thought as she felt those long fingers at work right at the hem of the loose midriff shirt she had on, his thumbs gliding under the top to run across her hardened nipples. A shudder ran through her body and he smiled against her neck.

This was going to be fun, he thought, having his strong, powerful Leftenant unraveling in his arms. It wouldn't be the first time, but he honestly had been so overwhelmed and in disbelief at the first time that he hadn't had time to appreciate it like he wished he had. Thankfully, he would get another chance to do so.

His hands shifted upward taking the top with them, as his mouth began a slow descent to her breast. He buried his face between them briefly before before moving his mouth to the left one and biting down gently on its peak.

Abbie hissed, and pulled slightly on his hair. He sucked the aroused bud into his mouth and began nibbling and sucking at it. Moans began to fall from Abbie's mouth as she pressed her hips down and rubbed her dripping center against the bulge in his pants. He soon enough felt small fingers fiddling at the waist band before finding their way in and wrapping around his throbbing member.

"Jesus, Crane," Abbie breath as she finally felt the girth of it in her hand. No wonder she had been so sore the day after their last time. She began stroking its length as he moved to her other breast. Her hand stopped at the tip and she rubbed her thumb across the head, causing him to thrust up into her hand as a growl left his throat.

His head rose from her chest and he looked her in the eyes. He lifted her slightly and she lined him up at her center. He slowly eased her back down. Her eyebrows drew together and her mouth fell open as she felt the tip penetrate her. He grunted and tried to remain focused on her beautifully obscene face and not get loss in the feel of her sinking down onto his length. He could feel her muscles stretching and contracting around him as they tried to adjust to the size.

He pressed his forehead against hers after she was fully seated onto him. She closed her eyes and he gave her a few moments to get used to the full feeling as he could feel himself nudging against her womb. After feeling her relax slightly, he withdrew some and thrusted upwards causing her eyes to open and a purring sound to leave her throat as she again pressed her lips to his. After a few more shallow thrust, he felt her begin to rock against him, creating a slow, enticing rhythm. He sat back in the chair, pupils blown as all he could see was her beautiful face and her beautiful body moving on top of him, her breast bouncing slightly as she did so. His hands caressed every inch of skin as he allowed her to have her way with him. He allowed her to slowly work herself up until her moans and cries became louder and more frequent and she seemed to be now easily taking the whole length of him with more pleasure and less pain. He again allowed his long fingers to grip her backside, urging her to pick up her rhythm as he began slamming her down harder onto his lap while simultaneously thrusting upwards. This caused her to become even louder his name and other improper things came spilling off of her tongue as she moaned and begged him not to stop.

She gripped his biceps and suddenly threw her head back with a cry and she felt her body go into spasms. He again grunted as he slammed her back down on to him, holding her there as he felt her body contracting around him, causing him to spill himself into her.

She fell forward onto his chest and he fell back into the chair, the cool air against their now sweaty bodies. She took a few minutes to let her breathing pattern normalize again before she lifted her hips allowing him to slip from her. She then grabbed the cover off of the back of the chair and climbed out of his lap, resuming their previous position and throwing the blanket across them as she had no idea where her shorts were and she didn't think her legs were working in order to allow her to stand and look for them.

They remained silent for a few minutes, but it was no longer a comfortable silence and he felt compelled to say something.

"Leftenant, I do not mean to ruin your moment," he told her as her eyes turned towards him, "but I do hope that you know that our coital encounters," she rolled her eyes at the wording he used, and he became slightly offended. "Don't roll your eyes Abigail, I only wish to speak with you of something that should be of great significance to both of us, and needless to say you haven't made it easy." He stopped when he saw her place her place her hands over her eyes and start laughing silently. "Fine, I shall stop trying to engage you," she interrupted as she could see she was offending him.

"No, no," she told him as she placed a hand on his chest trying to contain her laughter. "Ichabod, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to laugh. It's just that, you always try to be so formal and after what we just did," she stopped herself and redirected, "I'm sorry, go on."

She looked at him and smiled widely at the disapproving look he was giving her. She almost felt like she should be ashamed of her behavior but she also found it cute when he got all worked up like this.

"As I was saying," he started again, "I do not take these encounters lightly. I only wish for you to know of my true feelings. A lot has happened in the time that we have known each other and," he paused trying to find the words. It wasn't often, if ever, he was at a lost of words but now he was. But he had also never felt anything like this, not even with Katrina. "I'm in love with you, Abbie."

Her eyes grew wide for a second before her gaze dropped to her lap. She scoffed but continued to look down, trying to gather her courage for this conversation she knew she had signed on for the moment she crawled into his lap and they began undressing each other. She had known and she had accepted it as a consequence of what they had just done, but accepting it and then having to actually do it were two different things.

She looked back up at him, her head tilted slightly to the side. "I think I might be in love with you too," she told him and bit her bottom lip. She watched as he took in what she had said, a small smile starting to form on his face. "But I'm also scared."

At this his brows furrowed. "Of what?"

She had lost everyone she ever loved. It was now at the point she didn't expect anyone that she actually loved to stay. She had just resigned herself to enjoying it while she could. She had lost her father, her mother, Jenny for a period of time, Corbin, Joe had gone away and didn't seem like he had any interest in returning anytime soon. Now all of a sudden she had been gifted with this supportive, somewhat stable family. And she was afraid that that was going to blow up in her face sooner or later. She still feared that social services would for some reason find her an unfit mother and come and take Macey away, which was an unfounded worry since the agency had had nothing to do with the child's adoption in the first place. Jenny and Hawley were loose cannons and she expected them to just up and leave at any moment. And Ichabod, well she didn't know what to make of him. Sure they were stuck together for the time being, but what about after? What if he got killed during one of their battles? What if he decided that after their mission he wasn't really in love with her and didn't even like her for that matter, after he was no longer bound to her.

"Losing you," she told him.

He gave her a confused, worried look. "Leftenant, I am not going anywhere."

There was another sleepy cry of Mommy coming from the back of the house. "Yeah but you can't promise that," she told him before standing, the blanket wrapped around her bottom half. She spotted her shorts on the floor and picked them up before walking away.

He watched as she disappeared out of the living room, unsure of what to say to her to calm her fears, but he knew he had to find some way to get through to her.

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**A/N: Hope you liked the smut. FYI I take smut recommendations as well. LOL. Some of you guys make smut into an art form. I just find myself reading with my mouth open like this freaky, deviant minded piece of trash, then by the end of it I'm nodding my head like good job you talented genius you. Keep giving the cast something to read, I think it's cute and funny that they actually read the fan fiction and then get so flustered by it. Well not Tom LOL. He's just like whatevs...which makes you wonder, what type of freaky twisted shit is running through his mind at any given moment. Isn't he married? Can someone call a press conference with his wife, lol. Now I'm curious, because it's always the ones you never suspect. Mmhmmm. **

**Don't forget to leave reviews! -THIS! LOL**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: So sorry it took so long to update. I just haven't been in a good place for writing and didn't want to force anything. It's a combination of writers block and being super busy and exhausted. I started writing this chapter a while ago, and just got a good urge to write and actually finished it. Hopefully this stays and I don't go back into a writing funk. This chapter is a little ahn...Anyways I hope you enjoy. Plus again if there is anything you wanna read just let me know and I'll see if I can fit it in. Particularly anything with this FBI/London thing we are about to have because I don't know what to do with it but I want to bring my story up to date in those areas. **

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He looked down and smiled at the little girl lying with her head on his shoulder as she let out a shaky giggle at the corny joke her mother had just told her in order to get her mind off of the fact that they were in a doctor's office to get her cast removed. The girls laughter didn't last long though as her mind quickly fell back to the task at hand.

"But Mommy I don't wanna take my cast off," she whined.

"So do you wanna keep it on forever?" Abbie asked her, trying to get the girl to understand the need for the cast to come off and to try and calm her at the same time. "You said it was itchy, remember?"

"It's gonna hurt," she said.

"No it won't baby, I promise," Abbie tried as he held the little girl closer. "They are just going to take the cast off, you won't feel a thing."

They continued trying to reassure the child as well as distract her, reminding her that they were going to see Jenn and Hawley after they left the doctor's office and that they would also allow her to get some candy after dinner. Then the doctor came in and everything after that was a blurr. There was screaming and tears, that amplified after she saw the small saw they were going to use to remove the cast. It took Ichabod wrapping his long limbs around the child holding her still while Abbie held her face reminding her that she was fine and that she wasn't actually being hurt. Which seemed to start working towards the end. The doctor announced she was done which prompted a "Really?" from Macey as the tears stopped abruptly confirming that she wasn't actually feeling any pain from the procedure.

"That wasn't so bad, now was it?" Ichabod asked still holding her in his arms.

She laughed a little as she looked at her now freed arm before burying her face in his neck and informing them that she was ready to go, before the doctor's decided that there was something else she needed done to her.

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She walked into the house and immediately noticed the silence, thankfully. She was exhausted. Being that their wasn't much evil to fight lately, she had been officially back on full time at the station. School had started again, so she had picked up her old exhausting routine, working over at the station and sometimes picking up extra cases that were for the taking.

She was trying to refocus her priorties back to what they were prior to the recent events that had turned her life completely upside down. And though she would never get to go back to the way her life was prior to those events, she could still strive to accomplish the goals she had set for herself back then, because she wanted them now more than ever. Now that she had Macey, she wanted that career and house more than ever because it now not only meant more stability for herself but for the child. She had started looking into the academy again and had gotten in touch with some contacts. It seemed like they still wanted her and she assured them that she still wanted to train. She had run down her situation to them, well most of it, leaving out a few details here and there, and assured them that she could still spend the required time in Quantico in order to finish training. Now she only needed to convince herself of that. Training would require her to be away from Macey for prolonged periods of time, longer than either she or the girl would like, but it would be something that they would both have to live with. Between Ichabod, Jenny, mainly Jenny, and Hawley she figured the girl would be well taken care of while she was away, but there was no way to soften the emotional strain it would cause on them. Even Ichabod, as he had overheard her on the phone talking to one of her contacts from the agency and had began acting strangely while simultaneously trying to find out more about what exactly she planned on doing and when she planned on doing it as well as encourage her without letting his feelings about her being away get in the way. But she had read straight through him. The man was not nearly as good about hiding his feelings as he thought he was.

The soft shuffling and whispering that came from the back of the house alerted her to the fact that Ichabod and Macey had not fallen asleep on the couch again waiting for her to come home. She suspected it was still a little too early for that, but it had been so quiet when she first arrived.

Her brows furrowed as she made her way through the house and closer to her kitchen where the voices seemed to be coming from.

"But I wanted to eat it," she heard Macey softly whine.

"Another time Sweetheart. We have to get everything cleaned up before Mommy gets home," she heard him say a little hurriedly.

This caused her to step around the corner. She was met with both of their backs as they hovered over the garbage can. They hadn't noticed her standing there.

"What are you two doing?" she asked, causing both of them to jump and turn towards her. It was comical, and she would have laughed if it were not for the little pieces of cake batter she noticed all over the child, including all throughout her hair. The curious look she had on her face slowly began to morph into a scowl. She then noticed that there was a similar material all over her counter and on some parts of the wall near her mixer. Her eyes darted back to Ichabod, and she noticed that he had bits and chunks on him as well, not as much as Macey as the child had probably had her face almost directly in front of the mixer when whatever happened happened.

She glared at him, and he opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. Macey stood staring innocently as she waited for her father to start explaining what had happened. It had been an honest mistake. They hadn't meant to mess up the kitchen. Surely her Mommy wouldn't be mad if they just explained that to her. So she decided she would since her father was making no effort to.

"We made a mistake, it got...on accident, it got everywhere...all over the kitchen...the cake when we tried to mix it on accident." Well that could have come out a lot smoother, but she hoped that she had at least made it clear that it was an accident and they were sorry.

Abbie looked at the child as she looked up at her waiting to see her reaction at the information she had just relayed to her. It was funny, a little bit. She was still pissed because she was tired and it looked like a mini explosion went off in her kitchen and she would probably be picking batter chunks out of Macey's hair for the next few days, but it was funny that they both knew that they had both messed up and then Macey trying to be the grown up in the situation to explain what happened. It was always funny to her when kids tried to all of a sudden become little adults when they thought they were in trouble or they were seriously trying to negotiate their way into something, those somethings mostly being snacks or toys and spending the night in her and Ichabod's bed for Macey.

She looked back at Ichabod, trying to prevent the smile that was threatening from coming through. He just continued to stare with a look that stated that he was offended that he was in trouble. "Exactly what she said," he told her. "That is what occured."

Abbie scrunched her fact together, because she knew her face was betraying the emotion she wanted to show. Perhaps she was just to tired to be angry. Or the fact that she and Ichabod had remained on better terms than they had been in the past couple of months.

"Ughhh!" she exclaimed as she walked over to Macey, knowing that she could no longer stay angry. She bent and placed her hands on each side of the child's face before kissing her forhead. "You're are so lucky I haven't seen you all day and I miss you, Bug. Now let's go get this crap out of your hair."

She picked the child up, and Macey seemed to be content that her explanation had the desired effect. She had just stood placing the child on her hip when she heard, "You haven't seen me all day either," come from behind her.

To which she turned to him and respnonded. "And I'm not going to murder you for messing up my kitchen."

The eyebrow that he had raised immediately became limp, "Fair enough."

By the time he had finished cleaning the kitchen and taken a shower himself, Abbie had already sat herself down at the kitchen table with her bank statements, and computer with Macey across from her coloring and talking aloud to either the picture she was coloring, her teddy bear, or some imaginary friend that he couldn't see.

"What are you doing?" he asked as he went to get him a drink of water.

"Trying to rebalance and rebudget my life so I can come up with a savings plan," she told him.

"What are you saving to buy?" she asked him.

She turned and smiled at him, "That house I'm always talking about that may or may not exist yet." With that, she went back to the paper and the spreadsheet in front of her.

This gave him pause. He only continued to stare at them as he hesitated before bringing the glass of water up to his mouth. This house, he had known that she had still wanted a house, but he hadn't known that she had wanted one so urgently. He felt his mood starting to plummet. He felt awful...worthless. Had he upset her life that greatly with his appearance, his financial dependence on her. He continued to stare at them, the only sound filling the house being Macey's incessant talking and the sound of Abbie's fingers against her keyboard, an occasional sigh escaping her lips, revealing her growing frustration with the task she had taken on.

He opened his mouth, but a sinking feeling in his chest caused him to swallow those words before they ever left his throat. 'I'm sorry,' he realized that was what he was about to say. Then he mentally kicked himself. What would sorry do? Sorry would surely not make up for the burden he had placed on her, nor would it provide a more stable roof over their heads. He had been right. The conversation he had had with Hawley earlier, not without threatening the man about leaving him to fend for himself if they ever came across a monster that swallowed people's tongues leaving them mute if he was to speak a word of this to either Abbie or Jenny, was starting to rear it's ugly head again. He started to think about the things they had discussed. He had learned that even though he had made a significant time jump, his sense of masculinity was still rooted in his first life. He had been the provider in his family, when it was Katrina and him, and his father had been the provider of the house when he was a boy, and that was one of the things that he had been taught that a man did. He had asked Hawley if that was odd and if he should express his concerns to Abbie. The man had responded by telling him that it was not odd, and a lot of that same sentiment was still around today, he even shared it, and that he probably should find better wording to share his concerns with Abbie unless he wanted to find himself in a painful physical predicament. But he thought that maybe this was the reason that Abbie was afraid to fully give in to her feelings for him. Maybe she didn't see him as a man, an adult male capable of carrying his weight in a serious romantic relationship. Maybe she wanted more for herself and for Macey, and planned on one day pursuing that and didn't want to be romantically tied up with him to the point that it would prevent her from doing so. This was something that had been bugging him for a while, he had tried to come up with multiple remedies to fix it because honestly it was causing him not to like himself very much. The one of the remedies he thought to be the most promising was going to England to see if he could find anything that would help him to better be able to care for himself, and possibly others in this time. Surely, his old friends had to have had the foresight to afford him a means to thrive financially in this lifetime. After all, how could one focus on preventing the apocolypse if you were preoccupied with where your next meal would be coming from.

"Leftenant I have something to tell you," he found himself saying before he had adequately mentally prepared himself to have this discussion. He slid into the chair between her and Macey.

"Yup," she said as she frowned at her computer screen. "What is it?"

"I am afraid that I have been hoarding money from you," he replied in a regretful tone.

She frowned as she finally looked up at him, trying to figure out in which direction he was coming from. She honestly felt like she knew this man like the back of her hand, but not on personal issues, not on things like this. When he was ranting and raving, or they were fighting, yes, they where on one accord, but she swore, left field was made for things such as Ichabod's intimate personal issues.

"Please, do not be angry at me," he said, and she continued to stare at him. "But I promise you that it is for a good cause."

She wasn't upset, about the money thing. She had been trying to make him start a savings account since he had started receiving the flimsy paycheck from the department.

"I am going to go to England," he finally got out.

At this her eyes widened. And with her next words he could detect the hurt and panic in her voice, and knew that Macey could as well as her little head popped up as soon as the words left Abbie's mouth.

"You're leaving?"

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**A/N: Please review and let me know what you think! Oh and someone asked a while ago about the unprotected sex thing...and I haven't made up my mind exactly how this is going to go. I have multiple theories but one in particular that I think I am going to go with now. So something will probably come from it but it may be nothing at all, but right now it will probably be something for now. If that explains anything, LOL. Again open for interesting suggestions. **


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